


Weiss and Ruby go to College

by lojzek91



Series: Weiss and Ruby's College Days [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/F, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 01:12:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3155264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lojzek91/pseuds/lojzek91
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One is a rich aristocrat girl slightly rejected by her own family, the other is a not-too-well-off girl that's nothing like her. M stands for occasional mentions of abuse and some smut as well. As of Feb 2 dedicated to Monty Oum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The first day

**Author's Note:**

> A little explanation as to what's going on: Weiss and Ruby are the same age, Cardin is a year older. While it's a college AU, it is also placed in our world, albeit in a fictional region of Remnantshire (guess the country :P). POV changes with every line, the story is told through Weiss's and Ruby's eyes.

Weiss gulped hard at the sight of the huge campus before her, intimidated by the foreign and unknown place.  _You can do this, it's a school just like any other. It just so happens it's on the other side of the country where you haven't been yet._  She held her breath as she pushed the door open and walked in, her bag with school supplies on her left shoulder.

With gracious steps she moved towards the centre of the campus where the map was. Her head was held high, reflecting the perfection she demanded of herself. She was looking around the campus, admiring the grass that was so perfectly trimmed it surprised even her. There were a couple of trees scattered around the huge lawn, but they were scattered in an orderly manner. Everything about it screamed perfection. The main building was the largest, towering above the campus at an impressive height of eight floors. The white façade was at least as immaculate as the grass before it. The arches in the Renaissance style were looking so masterfully crafted even from the other side of the campus. From the centre of the building, a large clock tower rose, the huge clock in the middle of it resembling an eye, as if checking if everything was as perfect as the day before.

To the left and right of the main building there was a long three floor building, built and ornamented in a similar style.  _Those must be the dorms._  The dorm on the left had a pinkish colour to it while the right one had a bluish hue.  _I knew they weren't co-ed, but did they really need to colour them differently? That's just insulting._

The dorm colouring was the only thing Weiss didn't find perfect about the college so far.  _And if that is honestly the only thing bothering me, I should be great._

The wide cobblestone path had finally led Weiss to the centre of the campus and to the map.  _Welcome to the Fairbanks-Smith College,_  the map said at the top. She learned from the map that the boys' dorm was named Fairbanks' dorm and the girls' dorm was Smith's dorm. The map had a detailed view of every floor of the school building, with every classroom labelled so as to avoid any and all misunderstandings. Weiss took a mental note remembering that the mess hall is a separate building from the main one. She wouldn't want to forget that. She quickly found the number of the classroom she had to get to and wanted to resume her way towards the school building but hit something instead, which made her stumble and almost fall. She quickly composed herself, though. She was a Schnee, after all. It wouldn't set a good example if she wasn't fully in charge of what was happening.

"I apologize for my clumsiness," she muttered, looking at the person she walked into. The look she spared that person revealed a boy that looked older than Weiss, dressed in the school uniform, with orange hair and a smug look on his face.  _Well, that didn't take long,_  Weiss thought to herself with a sigh she held back.

She wanted to say she wasn't interested in him or any of the boys, for that matter. But thinking back to the summer she was forced to spend in a 'repress yourself camp' or 'pray the gay away camp' as others called it, she knew she had to stay quiet.  _I also don't know how he'd react, so it'd be a dumb thing to do anyway._ Nobody was to know she was an 'abnormal' girl 'trying' to cure herself. That was the only reason her parents would even let her go to college away from home. What she had to endure at the camp was like nothing she ever wanted to experience again. Her parents simply didn't want to understand that you can't 'cure' the way a person feels simply because it isn't an illness, so she had to attend it.  _Why was I even stupid enough to think they might take it well? I should have been quiet and live my life the way it would present itself._

It's not that her telling that to her parents was necessary as they did find her in her room one day, kissing with the girl she was dating. Emphasis on 'was', as they had to break up and they never met since. Weiss feared the worst because the girl wouldn't answer her calls and even the house she lived in seemed abandoned after they were caught.

But that was not the worst thing. The worst thing was her own parents that practically threw the other girl out of the house before lashing out on Weiss.  _If only they had only used their voices,_  Weiss thought. She shivered at the memory, still feeling the bruises as if they were there, masterfully planted in places where her clothing would hide them so nobody would be able to see them. The only mistake they made was her mother's nail that ripped the skin under her left eye, a hideous scar the painful permanent reminder of the events that transpired that day. She couldn't believe her parents could be such savages just because she preferred girls.

"No need to apologize, sweet cheeks."  _Ugh, sweet cheeks? Really? Are we back in the 40's again?_  Weiss mentally shook her head in disbelief as the boy continued. "First day?"

His voice was raspy, no doubt from yelling and smoking. Weiss already hated him, and she didn't even know him.  _Calm down. Just tell him you are late or something. But be gracious about it, like you were taught to be._

"Yes, it's my first day," she replied, gracefully as ever.

"Well, aren't you in luck. The name's Cardin, I am a sophomore. I can show you around if you'd like."

Weiss noticed that he got closer to her.

"Thanks for the offer, but I believe I'll be able to find what I need myself."

He got even closer. "Oh, come on, sweet cheeks, don't be like that. I just want to help you."

He grabbed Weiss by the wrist. Weiss wanted to scream, but she was scared. She tried to wry herself out of the brute's grip, which proved hard to do due to his strength.

* * *

A girl with black hair and red accents was walking through the campus, taking in all the architectural beauty of the old building rich with history. She was wearing a black skirt that went down to her knees and a corset of the same colour, with a red hood completing her outfit. Her neck craned around as she tried to take in as much of the place as she could.

Everything she saw fascinated her. The glass panes of the building, each having a different picture painted on, the huge wooden door, carved with all sorts of scenes from old books, the marble arches on which the masons spent almost a year each to make them look perfect, the majestic clock tower that contained the largest bell in the country, the immaculately painted façade and even the cobblestone path that was full of different patterns, all of it mesmerized the girl. Well, except the dorms, painted in different colours so as to make it easier for students to see.  _Just how drunk or stoned would one have to be to go right instead of left or the other way around? Do they think we're stupid?_

Suddenly, she snapped out of admiring the building and loathing the dorm colours as she heard something she hoped she wouldn't have to, especially not on her first day.

"I just want to help you."

The phrase itself wasn't the cause for the girl's concern. The manner in which it was spoken made her turn towards the source of the phrase and when she found the culprit, she also noticed that he was holding a struggling girl with his hands. Her instincts jumped in and before she knew, she intervened.

"Hey, you! Leave her alone!"

To her surprise, the guy let go, which made the girl fall down. The guy then turned towards the person who told him to stop, clearly expecting someone taller as he looked at the girl in disbelief before he cackled like an idiot.

"And just why should I do that, little one?"

The blood went to the girl's head, filling her with anger at the nickname. She positioned herself in a taekwondo stance.

"Because she clearly doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Wait, are you challenging me to a fight? I didn't know she had a girlfriend, especially not someone looking like you."

"What do you mean, looking like me?"

He smirked. "Isn't it obvious? She's way too rich for someone like you. Congratulations on a pretty catch, though."

The smug tone of his voice made the girl even angrier.

"I don't even know her. I just saw how you acted towards her and I simply cannot let it stand."

"Oh, we have a social justice warrior here, watch out, everybody!"

He shouted the sentence, which only made her clench her fists even harder. "Want to show me if your hands and feet are as strong as your mouth, big boy?"

The guy just laughed. "Listen up, little one. Maybe you should be more respectful to your elders."

"I'll respect those that give me a cause to respect them, not you."

"You are a tough cookie, aren't you? Well, just this once I'll let you both go, since it is your first day. But I'd watch my back if I were you.  _Especially_ you, little one."

With those words, he turned and walked away. She was fuming, clenching her fists together, her nails digging so deep in her skin she almost made herself bleed.

The girl in black and red went to the other girl that was still sitting on the ground, looking around with doe eyes, unsure what to make of what just happened. She extended an arm towards the other girl.

"I'm Ruby, nice to meet you. Are you okay?"

The other girl accepted the hand. Ruby pulled her up and finally took a look at her. She noticed the scar under her left eye, but paid no heed to it.  _White hair, blue eyes, perfect figure, pretty face, perky breasts, no doubt her ass looks even better, lovely dress that looks kind of like ballet dresses. A bit smaller than me, perfect. She is drop dead gorgeous_ , Ruby thought.  _Damn it, Ruby, don't. You have a girlfriend, remember?_

"M-My name is Weiss. I'm perfectly fine now. Th-Thank you for helping me."

 _She's also an aristocrat? That dude was actually right about one thing? Well I'll be damned if she isn't something._  "Nah, it was nothing. I just can't stand jerks, is all."

"Still. I owe you that much."

"Whatever you say. Do you have classes?"

"Yeah, in the room 309."

Ruby checked her timetable. "Well, I'm in 316. We can go there together if it'll make you feel safer."

Weiss nodded and they started walking. Ruby thought she saw a blush creep up the other girl's face.

* * *

_Damn it Weiss, stop it! Why are you blushing? You don't want your parents to send you to that camp again, you know that. Pull yourself together!_

_But this girl is so cute. And she saved me without even knowing who I am._

_It makes no difference! You don't want to go back there!_

The internal struggle made Weiss almost impossible to concentrate on walking and she somehow managed to stumble on her own legs. Almost as if Ruby expected she'd fall, she turned towards and caught her without popping a sweat. Weiss blushed harder.

"S-Sorry about that."

"No worries. You don't need to apologize for everything."

"I-I'm just being polite, it's how I was raised."

"So you really are an aristocrat? I mean, not like I wasn't taught to be polite, but you know, your posture and language are much different than mine." Ruby seemed a bit embarrassed at what she said, but Weiss concentrated more on her question.

Weiss looked at the floor.  _Am I still one?_ "Y-Yes. Schnee is my last name, if you have ever heard of it."

"Can't say I have, sorry. You're not from around here, then?"

"No, not really. My parents live on the other side of the country."  _Not me. Not anymore._

Ruby moved a hand in a way that said 'follow me' and Weiss obliged, if only because she was scared of missing her first class. The pair walked together towards the third floor, where they both had classes. Ruby was in charge of the small talk while Weiss was concentrating more on not blushing.

"So, Weiss, was it?" When she nodded, Ruby continued. "What are you studying?"

"Umm, I'm actually going for an art major. I'm a ballet dancer."

Weiss could have sworn she saw Ruby's face light up for a moment as she said those words, but it disappeared so quickly that it made her wonder if she had really seen it or if it had been just her imagination.

"I see," Ruby continued nonchalantly. "I'm going for architecture myself. I like to draw buildings and stuff."

"I also like to write, so I'm taking creative writing on the side. M-May I ask you something?", Weiss stuttered.  _Damn you, stop being so nervous! You can't let yourself do things like that again!_

Ruby looked at her with her amazingly clear eyes that were so blue they actually looked almost grey. Weiss could just drown herself in those eyes and…  _No!_

"Sure thing, ask away."

"Do you really know how to fight?"

Ruby chuckled. "Yep," she said, popping the p. "I was training taekwondo since I was six. I hope this college has a taekwondo class, I'd love to improve some more. Why?"

"Just asking," Weiss answered with another involuntary blush. "I guess I was afraid that Cardin guy would hurt you and that then he'd resume… doing whatever it was before you intervened."

Ruby simply waved it off. "Psh. He would be down before he could position himself. He didn't even look like he knows the first thing about defensive stances."

The small talk went on and they finally got to room 309.

"Well, I have to go a bit further down the hall now. Where do you have classes next?", Ruby asked.

Weiss checked her bag to find her timetable. She then studied it for a second. "After this, I'll be in the gym on the fourth floor for the rest of the day."

"Oh. Well then, see you around!" Ruby turned to leave, but before she did, she turned back around, as if she forgot something. "You said you were a ballet dancer?"

Weiss nodded.

"Well then, tell me when you'll be performing, I'd love to come see you. Want my number so it'll be easier for you to find me?"

Weiss nodded again with a blush and they exchanged the numbers. Afterwards, Ruby went down the hall with a grin on her face. Weiss just stood there and watched her in admiration.  _She has such a small body, I mean, she's taller than me, but she's still small and you wouldn't want to mess with her. And she's also so incredibly cute… Damn it, Weiss, stop thinking about her that way or you'll be in trouble!_

* * *

When the classes were done for the day, the freshmen had to attend a ceremony that would formally introduce them to the college. Ruby went there, hoping to find the white-haired ballet dancer intact.  _Why do I keep thinking I have to protect her? That guy wouldn't dare get near her again, not today. He didn't look_ that  _dumb. Sleazy, yes, but not dumb._

She got to the area and squeezed herself on a chair in the back row. She didn't really like ceremonies like this, but she had to go there, mostly to find out what she's supposed to do.

She was looking around and noticed Weiss, or more specifically, her beautifully kept hair flowing freely down her back, in the front row like the good girl she gave the impression of. Right at that moment, a grey-haired and balding person in a formal suit stepped on the stage.  _He looks like a bloody penguin,_ Ruby thought. When he started talking, Ruby could barely hold back a chuckle as he even sounded somewhat like a penguin.

"Freshmen, welcome to Fairbanks-Smith College, one of the best colleges in this country! My name is Lloyd Fairbanks and I'm the grandson of Ewan Fairbanks who founded this college. I'm the headmaster of it as well. As you have seen, your elder colleagues have uniforms while you don't yet. This will change today. Your uniforms are waiting for you in your dorms. Starting tomorrow, you're to wear those garments unless you want to face a fine. You'll also have to…"

He just kept on rambling and rambling. Ruby didn't listen to him, everything she needed to know, she found out.  _Hopefully the uniforms won't be too skimpy, even though some girls look super hot in skimpy uniforms. God bless single-sex dorms,_  Ruby thought to herself with a smile on her face as she imagined Weiss in a skirt that barely covered her from all the ballet lessons undoubtedly shapely and perky ass and how she willingly pronounced her hips as she was walking in front of Ruby, not even flinching when she'd hug her from behind, kissing her ivory neck while caressing her flat belly and her hand sliding lower and lower-  _God damn it, Ruby! You have a girlfriend! A girlfriend you won't be seeing for another half a year and you are having some problems with, but a girlfriend nonetheless._

All the effort she made in holding back the lewd thoughts involving the girl she barely met was in vain as she felt a tingling sensation between her legs.  _Really? I'm that easy to get in the mood?_  She just wanted for the penguin to stop talking so she could go to her dorm to relax.

"… And let me end this speech with the following thought: Love what you're doing and you will never fail at doing beautiful things. Welcome to the college!"

Ruby chuckled at the thought as she was standing up from her chair.  _Beautiful things or beautiful girls, I don't mind either._

She waited outside the hall for Weiss to show up. She was among the last people to come out, but she noticed Ruby almost straight away.

"Hey, Ruby!", she chirped and Ruby swore that Weiss was either blushing or her face had a different colour than the rest of her body.

"Hey there! I was thinking I could accompany you to your dorm room, or you me to mine, whichever comes first."

"Sure."

"So, did you listen to the penguin? Did he say where we find our room numbers?"

Weiss looked stunned for a second until she remembered. "Yes, he said that the room plan is in the dorm lobby. All the rooms have only two beds, so you'll only have one person with you. Oh, and he also said every room has its own bathroom."

 _So intimate. It's almost like they_ want _us to get together._ Ruby nodded and couldn't help but think how cool it would be to share a room with Weiss.  _How cool and how_ hot, _mostly._

"Did he say anything about weekends and if we're allowed to go in the town?"

"D-Didn't you listen to what he had to say?"

"Can't say I have, unfortunately. His voice made me sleepy and it was hard enough to try and stay awake."

Weiss looked at the floor. "Well, he did say that we're free to do anything on the weekends, provided we don't get hurt and that if we do, the school holds no responsibility as we are adults."

"Interesting."

They reached the dorm not too long after that. Since they were among the last people to leave the hall, the mass of girls that was checking out the dorm plan almost cleared completely by the time they got there.

They were looking at the huge board that had the room numbers and two names under each number. Ruby was looking for her name from the top floor down. She hoped for a room on the top floor because she loved the view in the morning, when the streets were still dark and empty. And the best view was obviously from the top floor.

"Hey, I found myself!", Weiss exclaimed happily. "I'm in room 102 with… With…"

She shut up and Ruby looked at her only to see her face being a shade even redder than Ruby's hood.

"With whom?", Ruby asked, proud of the probably only thing she really understood from her high school English classes. Weiss just pointed at the drawn square containing the room number 102.

_Room 102_

_Weiss Schnee_

_Ruby Rose_

_Oh hell yes,_  Ruby thought to herself with a grin.  _I think I'll like it here. Even without the view._


	2. Tell me about yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Ruby spend the first day of college together and get to know each other a bit more.

The two girls came to their room after taking their keys from the clerk in the lobby of the dorm. Ruby unlocked the doors and swung them open, letting Weiss get in first. The smaller girl sheepishly smiled and entered, Ruby's gaze, unwillingly or not, she couldn't really say, checking her butt as she went in. The snow white pants embraced her shapely legs and perky ass so nicely that it was hard not to look.  _Does she even know how much she's teasing with pants_ that _tight?_

Ruby managed to shake the lecherous thoughts off as she entered the room herself, checking the interior. The room was about as spacious as you'd expect a room for two college girls to be, which is to say, not very. The two beds took the bulk of the space, on the right side of each was a nightstand, the closet was built into the walls so it took less space, there was a desk with two chairs next to it, and a door which led to the bathroom. The bathroom that, Ruby noted, was almost as big as the room.  _They really needed an interior designer back when this place was built._ One thing that caught her attention, though, was that the wall was almost two feet thick.  _If the wall is this thick everywhere, you don't even need to hold your voice down while doing the nasty._

The uniforms were folded on the beds. They had a piece of paper on them that told the name of the intended recipient. Next to the beds there were the suitcases the girls brought with themselves. Ruby's uniform and suitcases were on and next to the right bed, so she figured that the right part of the room was hers.

"Hey, Weiss!"

The smaller girl looked at Ruby. "Yes?"

"How 'bout we check out how our uniforms fit us?"  _And so I can check you out a bit more._

Weiss blushed. "We could, yes."

"Do you want to change in the bathroom while I change here, or the other way around?"

"I think I'll take the bathroom," Weiss said sheepishly, took the clothes and went inside, locking the door behind her.  _Poor innocent soul,_ Ruby chuckled to herself.

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on peeking!"

Ruby quickly undressed after that sentence and in a few seconds, she was down to her underwear. She then put on the white stockings and the cotton shirt, white as well, of course. The shirt was modern looking, a little too frilly for Ruby's taste, but nothing too weird. The vest was plain and black, with the college crest embroidered where the heart was supposed to be. Ruby liked vests, but not more than corsets. The skirt was of course plaid, squares in different shades of black and white lining it, complete with another college crest on the left side of it. To her amusement, Ruby also noticed while putting it on that it wasn't as skimpy as she thought and half hoped it would be, though still barely decent.  _Weiss will look so embarrassed in this, I can't wait to see her blush at this again. It really looks like the penguins want the girls to get together, giving us outfits like these with walls that thick._  The last item was the black jacket with another college crest on the left side, which Ruby assumed and hoped was not mandatory for summer as it was quite thick. It had a leathery look, but it felt almost like satin, for some reason.  _All in all, it doesn't look too bad,_  Ruby thought as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Weiss took her sweet time, though. Ruby lay down on her bed and waited for Weiss to come out. When she finally showed herself, she looked at Ruby while Ruby looked at her. Weiss blushed after a moment.

"What is it, snowflake?"

Weiss pointed at Ruby's skirt without saying a word, seemingly ignoring the nickname. Ruby looked down at her skirt and noticed her legs were spread, giving Weiss clear view of her underwear.  _Whoops. Glad I'm not wearing see-through today,_  Ruby thought to herself as she rose from the bed.

"Haha, sorry about that," she said, stroking the back of her head. "Didn't think I'd get that comfortable."

She checked out Weiss' outfit again, this time seemingly more focused. She took her hand and gave her a light turn so she could check her out from behind and what she saw made her heart pump faster.  _The skirt is barely covering her ass! God damn it, she looks beautiful in this uniform. Definitely a head turner. I just want to grab her and kiss her and… Ruby, pull yourself together, for the love of all that is bacon!_

"You look gorgeous in this, Weiss."

The girl turned back around at the sound of her name. "Thanks. Though I feel the skirt could be a bit longer…"

"And why is that, exactly?"

Weiss looked down at the floor. "Because I feel it's way too revealing."

"Nah," Ruby waved her off. "Sure, you could say it's a short skirt. And if you really feel it's too short, you can always pull it down a little, like this," Ruby tugged a bit on the skirt, helping it get a bit lower. This of course elicited another blush from the aristocrat girl. Ruby continued: "But when you have nothing to be ashamed of, why be embarrassed by it?"

Weiss managed to look at Ruby again. "Do you really think that?"

"Sure thing, snowflake," Ruby grinned. "You have an amazing body, no doubt thanks to your ballet lessons."

Weiss blushed again. "T-Thanks."

* * *

Weiss mustered up her courage. "Let me see how you look in this, Ruby."

Ruby just smiled at her and made a half turn. Weiss unwillingly found herself immediately checking the taller girl's butt and legs, her mouth agape.  _This will be so hard to resist looking at. Just look at the way the skirt accentuates her muscled legs and how tightly the jacket fits her upper body and… No, Weiss! You have to stay strong! You're never going back to that camp!_

"It… It suits you," was all she mustered.

Ruby turned around with a grin. "It suits me? That's all?"

Weiss blushed a shade of crimson that rivalled that of her roommate's hood.  _I swear all the blushing I'm doing today is not healthy for me._

"W-Well… Black suits you anyway, though white is also oddly agreeing with you."

"Why wouldn't white agree with me?"

 _Because white's my favourite colour and I want you and… No!_  "I d-don't know. I just guessed since you wore red and black before that white might not look nice on you."

_Why can't I compose myself? I don't even know if she likes girls and I don't want to get with girls because I don't want to go back._

Ruby's grin grew even wider, something Weiss could barely believe was possible. "You're so adorable, Weiss. I bet my girlfriend would love to meet you."

_Well, there goes that. Wait, why am I sad because she has a girlfriend? But she said I'm adorable and- Damn it, Weiss!_

Ruby must have noticed her look that was incredulity mixed with agony, since the smile went away from her face.

"Hey, did I say something wrong?"

Weiss had to compose herself and think quickly. "N-No, I am just am-amazed that you'd admit something like that so… So… Easily, without being prompted."

"Eh? Why wouldn't I?"

"W-Well… I grew up in a family that doesn't really understand… girls liking other girls instead of boys."

"Oh, you have a problem with that?"

"No!", Weiss yelled, maybe too quickly and loudly. "No," she continued with a quieter voice. "No problem, I believe that love is simply love, no matter the gender."

Her eyes fell to the floor with that last sentence. Ruby grabbed her by the shoulder and lifted her face to look her in the eye, suddenly realizing something.

"Weiss… Tell me the truth. How long have you known?"

That caught the smaller girl by surprise. "Known? Known what?"

Ruby sighed. "That you're into girls."

_How did she guess that? Well, my blushes probably did little to help the matter. Damn it, I'll have to go back to that camp!_

"I… Didn't… I'm not… I can't…"

Tears started running down Weiss's cheeks and Ruby quickly hugged her and sat down on the bed, holding Weiss tight. Weiss wanted to run away, never to come back. And she could, Ruby didn't clutch onto her body, but she couldn't bring herself to even try to escape Ruby's gentle hold. She simply cried and sobbed in the other girl's jacket while Ruby gently caressed her back and hair, whispering a soft "Shh" in her ear. The smell of lavender emanating from Ruby helped her relax little by little as well.

It took her a long time to calm down. When she finally did, her eyes were completely red and dry. Ruby watched her with worry in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I didn't know…"

"D-Don't be sorry. It's all m-my fault," Weiss battled to talk through sobs.

"What's your fault, Weiss?"

"My… Condition."

"What condition? Being gay is not a condition."

"How can you be so open about it?"

"That's easy. I came to senses with what I am and I'm not ashamed of it. Are you?"

"Umm…"

"Weiss. Listen to me," Ruby said as she cupped the other girl's face in her hands and brought it up so they looked each other in the eye.  _Those beautiful grey eyes, so inviting._  "There is nothing wrong with being gay. Nothing to be ashamed of. Did your parents tell you you're a freak or something because of it?"

 _You don't even know half of it._  "A-Among others."

"Others?" Ruby's voice was full of concern now. "Who are others?"

"W-Well… I got sent to t-this camp this summer…"

"Oh hell no! They sent you to one of those? Poor thing."

"It was so scary, Ruby. I don't want to go back there, ever. I didn't believe the nuns could be that scary."

"You won't go back," Ruby reassured her as she pulled her into another hug. "You won't. I promise."

"You don't even know me. You don't know my parents. They are very rich and…"

She couldn't finish her thought as Ruby stopped her. "No amount of money will take away your gay. It can't be done, Weiss. Your parents have to either get that it's not a disease or whatever they think it is, or you have to get away from them before they destroy you."

"B-But… I have nobody else to go to," Weiss stuttered.

* * *

"You have me, don't you?"

Weiss looked Ruby in the eye. "Y-You?"

"Yes, me, snowflake. I may not know much about you yet, but I can see you're suffering because you weren't accepted and I will not let it stand! I'm sorry to say this, but your parents are idiots if they sent you to that camp. I accept you for what you are, Weiss."

_My god, this girl is a wreck. I'll cheer her up if it's the last thing I ever do._

"B-But what about your parents?"

"My dad and sister don't mind. I told them I'm gay two years ago and they never made a scene about it."

"You have a sister?"

"Well, more of a half-sister, really. We have the same father."

"So your father doesn't mind… What about your mother?"

"She never had a chance to find out," Ruby said in a sad tone as she looked past Weiss. "She… She was stabbed when I was five. That's when I said to dad I want to train some self-defence martial art."

"I'm so sorry, Ruby, I didn't…"

"You couldn't have known, Weiss. Stop making yourself feel bad over things you have no influence on. I'll make you happy again if it's the last thing I do, so help me god."

Weiss cringed a little. "There is no god."

"Weiss, I'm not a believer. It's just an expression."

"No, I mean it," Weiss looked Ruby straight in the eye. "There. Is. No. God. If there was, I wouldn't have had such a shitty life. You have no idea how scary those nuns at the camp were, what they made us watch, what they made us do. What little faith I still had before the camp, I lost it the moment I walked through those convent doors."

Ruby had nothing to say to that but to embrace Weiss again. The girls just sat there, embraced, for the next few minutes.  _This will be harder than I imagined._  Ruby felt the need to be there for Weiss. To help her come to terms with herself. To make her feel alive again. At that moment, she felt embarrassed that she was thinking of grabbing her in a sexual way.  _I'm so glad I didn't do anything like that. She'd probably kill herself from the shame._ She only knew the girl for a couple of hours and she already felt the need to be her protector. An idea struck her then.

"Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"How about I teach you some taekwondo?"

"Why would you want to teach me something like that?"

"To teach you how to defend yourself. Every girl should know how to do that, and who knows, maybe it even lifts your morale up a bit. And right now you need any morale boost you can get."

"I'd love to," Weiss said after a short pause.

Ruby smiled. She would help this girl in any way she could.

"Come on, then. Change into something comfy and we can find a nice place to start practicing."

The smaller girl grinned and went to her suitcase, took out some clothing and disappeared in the bathroom. Ruby took some clothes from her own suitcase and undressed again. She started putting on her pants when she heard the door behind her open and almost immediately slam shut again.

"Weiss? Something wrong?"

"No! I just walked in and saw you naked, sorry!"

"I wasn't naked and I'm not embarrassed by it, don't worry! I'm dressed now, you can come out."

The door reluctantly opened and Weiss's completely red face peeked out to test the truth of Ruby's statement. When she realized the dark-haired girl was telling the truth, she stepped out of the bathroom in her grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt with the print "Know your name". Under it there was a picture of a flayed man turned upside down.

"No way," Ruby said. "Not only are you drop dead gorgeous, but you also like  _A Song of Ice and Fire_?"

Weiss sheepishly smiled. "It's a good read."

"Snowflake, you and I are going to be great friends. Let's go now."

The pair walked out of the room, both making sure they have the key to return to it once they were done. When they got out of the dorm and took a look around they noticed that most of the lawn was occupied by different students, some of them reading, some of them drawing or writing, there were even some couples that were being cute to each other. They finally found a spot that wasn't taken. Ruby wanted to start the lesson, but a disturbingly familiar voice stopped her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't sweet cheeks and little one. Out for some fun?"

Ruby turned to face the guy, unnerved. "You."

"Guilty," he said to them with a smug smile. "The name's Cardin, by the way. You'd do well to remember the name since it's the one you might be screaming later today."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Not in a million years. I'm not even straight."

"So I  _was_  right. Sweet cheeks  _is_  your girlfriend."

"As cute and sweet as she is, no, she isn't my girlfriend."

"Oh? So this means she's available?"

"Cardin, was it, you said? Do the smart thing and go away. Now," Ruby said with bile in her tone, positioning herself in a combat stance.

"Oh, daring to fight me again? Very well, since you've asked so nicely."

"My pleasure."

Cardin positioned himself in what he believed was a flawless combat stance.  _I knew it. He has no idea what he's doing._

"The winner gets sweet cheeks there."

"No."

"What's the matter, little one? Afraid?"

Ruby let out a cackle. "Afraid? Of you? No. Nobody 'gets' her other than the one  _she_  wants. However, if I kick your ass, you leave the two of us alone forever or I'll make you rue the day you tried to bully her or me."

"That's not fair. What do I get if I win?"

"You tell me. As long as it isn't related to her."

"Very well. I get to have my way with you if I win."

"You're disgusting," Ruby said, noticing that quite a crowd had gathered around the trio, watching with questioning eyes. Cardin seemed oblivious to the audience.

"Scared, little one?"

"Not even a little. I accept."

Cardin smirked. "I hope you have some lube, then. Let's dance, little one."

As soon as he uttered that sentence, he charged towards Ruby, who simply dodged his charge and nonchalantly smacked him in the back of the head with her fist. This had to make him somewhat dizzy as he stopped and shook his head. He turned around and positioned himself for another charge, which Ruby dodged with as little effort as before. This time her hand smacked him in the ribs, which made Cardin stop to catch a breath. Ruby could see the anger building up in the boy, so she did the sensible thing. The sensible thing being taunting him to come at her with her hand, of course. He walked over to her and wanted to punch her straight in the face, but Ruby simply lifted her arm to block the attack as her other hand hit his sternum dead on, further augmenting the blow with a knee to his abdomen. Cardin was breathless again for a moment.

He apparently decided he had enough and prepared for one last attack. He turned around to face Ruby again, but before he could charge, she extended her right leg towards him, which Cardin caught in his hands easily. He smirked, but Ruby gave him a smirk of her own, pushing herself off the floor with the leg that was still in contact with it. Before Cardin knew what happened, he was lying on the floor face first, eating grass, with Ruby, as small as she was compared to him, towering over his body.

"Now get out of my sight before I embarrass you further in front of the whole student body," Ruby yelled. "And don't forget our bet. If I see you trying something with me or Weiss again, they are going to have to keep you in IC for a while." Cardin looked around and finally saw that a lot of students came to see what proved to be a completely one-sided fight, though not in the way they might have expected. He stood up with an angry look on his face, shot a dagger at Ruby with his eye and stormed off. The students started cheering and Ruby noticed Weiss staring at her in awe. Ruby actually blushed a little at this.

Soon enough Ruby realized that the crowd wasn't going to dissipate. That was not what she wanted.

"Umm, guys, please…", she started, weirdly shy all of a sudden. "Can you please give me and my friend here some privacy? It was supposed to be her first lesson."

There was a collective moan of sadness and what happened next surprised Ruby even more. "Ruby… It's okay. They can stay if they want to."

"Weiss, you sure?"

"You can teach them too, can't you?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to blush again.  _She's not wrong, though._  She closed her eyes. "I… Guess I could."

Another loud cheer boomed from the crowd and Ruby couldn't help but smile. She never expected to do something like this on her first day in college.

* * *

"Just tell me one thing before we start," Weiss said, her voice full of admiration.

"Yeah?"

"How did you do  _that_?"

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "It was not that hard, really. I was just making him mad enough to forget everything but how he wanted to hurt me. Then I simply took advantage of it by distracting him long enough to land a solid blow to the side of his head."

Weiss looked at her even more in awe than before. "You make it sound so easy."

"Well, that's what twelve years of taekwondo does to you," Ruby answered while rubbing the back of her head.

_Damn it, I'm seriously falling for this amazing girl. But she has a girlfriend! And you'll get in trouble again! Snap out of it!_

No matter how hard she tried, Weiss's resolve was weakening. She could feel herself falling for Ruby uncontrollably. She tried to shake the feeling off and concentrate on what the girl was about to say.

Ruby started to take the reins now. "Okay, so who wants to participate in this first taekwondo practice?"

About 20 students stepped forward in answer.

"Right, so first things first: the posture. Position yourself with your strong foot a shoulder and a half width behind your weaker foot and a shoulder width to the side, like this. This is called Front Stance."

Weiss noticed Ruby was left-handed just like her.  _Well, that will make it easier for me to follow her lead._ Weiss watched her roommate assert her confidence and authority and tried to mimic the stance she was demonstrating.

"Taekwondo is fought with legs, so don't expect to do a lot of things with your arms other than blocking the incoming kicks. Those punches I threw at the guy before were  _not_  taekwondo, they were improvisation."

Weiss happily soaked everything in like a dry sponge. After about twenty minutes of warm up during which Ruby demonstrated some basic kick techniques in addition to stretching their muscles, the people were paired, Ruby of course reserving a spot with Weiss as her sparring partner. Luckily there were just enough people that everyone got a partner.

"Weiss, try to remember what I told you before. We're going first so I can demonstrate how it looks when actually fighting as opposed to kicking air."

Weiss nodded as Ruby first demonstrated the bow. "The bow is essential to sparring as it shows respect to your opponent. Remember it, you'll be repeating it many, many times."

Weiss repeated the move. "Now, position yourself in Front Stance." When Weiss did that, Ruby ordered. "Now attack me with some of the kicks I have shown before."

Weiss paled. "You sure?"

"I'll be able to block them. You're a beginner and I've had twelve years of practice. Don't worry and get at me."

Weiss reluctantly did as she was told. "No. Be more decisive."

Weiss obeyed. Ruby easily blocked all her shots. After about a minute of blocking, Ruby signalled to stop.  _Damn, she's good._

"Now, I'll be on the attack," Ruby said after another bow and Weiss got a little scared at the words. "Don't worry, I won't hit you. I'll stop my leg before connecting with your body if you fail to block. One more thing. Have you all seen how her kicks were mostly oriented towards my midsection?" After everybody nodded, she continued. "That is not the main target. Your main target is your opponent's head." Weiss paled again. "That doesn't mean you should always aim for the head, though. Only do that when it's clear that the head is open for attack, otherwise what could be a winning move turns into a losing one immediately."

Ruby turned back to Weiss. "I'll do it slower this first time, so you'll have more time to react. Okay?"

"Y-Yes."

"Don't be afraid, snowflake, I'd never hurt you."

They bowed again and Ruby started attacking. Even with slower pace, Weiss struggled to keep up with the blocks. She noticed Ruby started speeding up a tiny bit every now and then. After a while, it seemed to Weiss that Ruby's kicks turned into a blur and before she knew exactly what happened, she felt a foot graze her right ear.

"This," Ruby started, not moving from her position, "is a knockout blow. My foot would hit the ear, which would make my opponent lose balance and possibly consciousness." She took the foot away and stood down to bow again.

The practice went on for a while longer and when they finished, Weiss was exhausted but happy. The crowd slowly disappeared, but not before asking Ruby if there will be another time.

"Hopefully. I'll talk to the headmaster about starting an official taekwondo club since apparently there's no martial arts club here at all, maybe he'll even agree. It will also make it a lot safer as you need head and torso protection in order to minimize the pain and trauma. If all of you who participated in the practice today would be so kind as to write your names down on a piece of paper so I can show the headmaster that there is interest, that'd be awesome."

Surely enough, Ruby got the names and then motioned to Weiss that they are leaving for the dorm. Weiss gladly followed her.

After they both took a shower and the day turned to evening, Weiss lay down on her bed with a sigh, exhausted.

"Did you like it?", a voice came from the other bed.

"Yes. You're an amazing teacher."

"Well, I didn't pass my teaching exam for nothing."

Weiss nodded, though she knew the other girl can't see her. Then she remembered something. "Tell me one thing, though."

"Hm?"

"Earlier today, when you told me that I should invite you to my ballet performance. Did you mean it or was it just an excuse?"

"Excuse for what?"

"I-I don't know, for a moment I thought you were… Hitting on me."

"Oh, snowflake. You're beautiful and all, but I'm faithful to my girl. I would never hit on you while I'm in another relationship."

"But I didn't know that then."

Ruby stood up, got to the other girl's bed and then sat on it. "Well, you do now."

"But you would if you weren't."

Ruby started caressing the top of Weiss's head and smiled. "Truth be told, I was kind of thinking about trying to seduce you somehow," she said, caressing Weiss's hair, "but I realized that would be wrong on too many levels. However," Ruby added with a wide grin, "would you mind if I was hitting on you?"

 _Such confidence. She's just so charismatic._   _She could kiss me, take me, anything, right here and now, and I wouldn't even flinch._ Weiss felt herself blush again and somehow she knew Ruby saw that even in the dark, since she spoke.

"Thought so. Well, I am really interested in seeing you perform, to answer your question. I enjoy the finer things in life, even if it wouldn't seem that way from the way I act." Ruby leaned in and kissed the smaller girl on the cheek. "Good night, snowflake."

_Why did the kiss have to be so short? I wanted it to last forever._

"Good night, Ruby." The dark-haired girl gave Weiss's hair one last caress and she walked over to her bed. Weiss shut her eyes to fall asleep and there she was, passionately kissing Ruby on the lips with her returning the favour intensely. She smiled as she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's chapter two! Quite a bit longer than the first one, but it basically wrote itself.
> 
> I hope you liked it! Comments are still welcome and I will see you all next time.


	3. Bumps along the road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is acting weird and Weiss wants to get what is wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, just some quick timeline to erase any confusion. The college started September 1 and I'm skipping forward to mid-November.

"Miss Schnee, snap out of it!"

Weiss jumped a bit, startled.

"I said demi-plié, not grand plié!"

"Yes, Miss Garland. It won't happen again, I promise."

"We've been doing this routine for weeks now, you've had it memorized. What happened?"

Weiss looked at the floor. "I am very sorry, I haven't slept well."  _Plus the taekwondo lessons are frantic, not like you want to hear that._

"Well, next time get more proper rest. I need you to be on your best possible level since our groups are performing three weeks from now."

"T-Three weeks?"

Weiss completely forgot that. The teacher looked at her and rolled her eyes. "Yes, three weeks. Remember, the Four Colleges Festival that our college is hosting this year? That's exactly why we've been training extra hard for the last month."

"I will be better, Miss. I swear. I'll practice the whole time until I get the routine memorized again."

"Well, then," the teacher said with a sigh. "Our time is up for today. Go on."

Weiss bowed automatically. The lessons made her completely rethink the way she acted.

"Why are you bowing to me?"

"Oh, i-it's nothing, really. It's just that I've been taking taekwondo lessons and it's more of a show of respect."

"I see. Well, as long as it doesn't interfere with your ballet, it's fine. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, Miss."

 _Finally, I can leave._  It wasn't that she didn't want to practice ballet, but Ruby said she'd introduce her to her girlfriend that day.  _And later we are having taekwondo club practice,_  she remembered happily. Ruby managed to convince the headmaster that the club was a good idea and it was a huge success. Such success, in fact, that the headmaster had already revealed that the next year they'd introduce a couple other martial arts. The headmaster came to watch one of the lessons and later said that they'd be battling the Preston-Lowell College taekwondo club at the Four College Festival. Weiss could see that this made Ruby extremely proud and since then, they started training tournament-style fighting.  _And Ruby is such an amazing teacher and she is even getting paid for it. A freshman paying for college by working there must be some kind of a first._ Weiss loved the practice because it helped her feel strong and more confident, but also because she could watch Ruby perform complicated techniques without as much as breaking a sweat. The way she moved looked so simple, but when Weiss tried to mimic her, she'd lose balance and fall every single time. Ruby would then pick her up with a smile on her face.  _The beautiful smile that I never want to fade from her cheeks._ But she was improving.

Weiss couldn't wait to see Ruby's girlfriend. Somehow from what Ruby told her, she was fun to be around and an all round nice person. On the way to the dorm the white-haired aristocrat hummed a melody to herself. She came to the dorm unopposed, but when she approached her room, she remembered Ruby might be nasty with her girlfriend, so she reminded herself to knock on the door as a blush crept up her face at the thought of Ruby naked and enjoying the time with her girlfriend. Unwillingly, Weiss imagined herself in the position of Ruby's girlfriend. She shook those thoughts away and rapped gently on the door.

"Come in," a sad voice came from inside almost immediately. Weiss was befuddled.  _What's wrong with Ruby?_

She entered the room reluctantly and found Ruby alone, sitting on her bed and looking at the floor. Weiss jumped to her roommate and held her face in her hands. She noticed her eyes were red, as if she was crying.

"Ruby, what is wrong?"

The dark-haired girl tried to wave it off. "Oh, it's nothing, she had to leave and I haven't seen her for so long and I really wanted her to meet you because I know you'd be great friends and…"

Weiss stopped her. "This is not it."

"It is. I'm upset because she was only here for a few hours and I haven't seen her for like three months."

Weiss decided she wouldn't continue prodding and simply offered Ruby a hug, which the other girl gladly accepted.

The time for the practice came soon and Ruby rose from her bed, determination renewed in her eyes and tears long gone. "Come on, snowflake. It's time to go."

Weiss was on her feet in an instant, ready to go.

The lesson started as usual, with Ruby dictating the stretching exercises before assigning everyone their sparring partners. In the two months the students knew enough techniques that they didn't need to spar individually under Ruby's gaze, so she usually just sat down, watching the pupils and mentioning the mistakes she observed.

That day it was different, though. Ruby was nervously pacing the room and for every mistake she was much snappier than she normally was. Weiss also noticed that she is making them work faster and harder than usual. While other students might have thought it was normal to speed up after a while, Weiss noticed something was off.  _She wasn't telling me the whole truth back in the dorm._  The moment of carelessness and Weiss felt a leg smack the side of her headgear and she fell to the ground.

Ruby was there in an instant. "Weiss? What in the world were you thinking, looking away from your partner? You must never do that!"

"S-Sorry, Ruby."

"Apology not accepted. In a real fight this could mean a severe concussion, a simple apology wouldn't do!"

Weiss's eyes started watering. "I will be more careful next time."

"You'd better!"

Ruby walked away, furiously. Weiss looked at her in disbelief, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. Her partner came to her and wiped the tears from her eyes.  _What is wrong, Ruby? You know you can tell me. It pains me to see you so upset._

"Weiss, are you okay? Did I hit to hard?", her partner, Velvet, a sophomore from abroad asked with concern.

"I'm f-fine," Weiss sobbed, still sitting on the floor, looking at Ruby, who still nervously paced around, lashing out at someone else who forgot to put his arms in a correct position.

"I-I just have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a moment, Velvet."

The girl nodded and Weiss scurried for the toilet where she splashed ice cold water on her face, trying to calm down. Then she took a few deep breaths before wiping her face and looking at her reflection in the mirror. She knew Ruby didn't mean to be so snappy back in the gym, but somehow it still hurt Weiss that she spoke to her in such a manner.  _Though I really shouldn't be looking around when I was supposed to be sparring._

She rejoined the practice and continued sparring with Velvet whose legs were long and easily able to hit way above Weiss's head and the aristocrat had quite a lot of problems blocking her quick and accurate kicks.

The remainder of the practice went by fast. Ruby regained some composure as she bid the students goodbye and soon after the whole gym was empty, save for Weiss and Ruby. Ruby struggled to look at Weiss.

"Weiss, I… I'm sorry for before. I shouldn't have lashed out the way I did."

"Don't be sorry, Ruby. Just tell me what is bothering you. You can tell me anything, you know that."

"It's stupid," Ruby dismissed her worry. "I need some practice myself, would you hold the punching bag for me?"

"Sure, Ruby."

They went in another room where there was a punching bag suspended from the ceiling. The girls positioned themselves on the opposite sides of the bag, Weiss pushing all her weight into the bag so it wouldn't move too much when Ruby's kicks would connect. They did this often, but this time Ruby's kicks were so fierce Weiss barely managed to hold the bag relatively still. The girl clad in red released a barrage after barrage of kicks and Weiss knew she wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

The kicks suddenly stopped and in their place, Weiss heard muffled sobs from Ruby. Weiss looked from behind the bag and saw Ruby sitting on the floor, her knees brought to her chest, her hands on her knees and her face in her hands, crying her eyes out. Weiss had never seen her crying before, let alone this much. She ran to her and embraced her from behind, pressing Ruby's head into her chest gently.  _What is wrong with you, Ruby?_

"Can you please tell me what's wrong?", Weiss asked concernedly, not really believing she'd get an answer, but she thought it was worth a try.

Ruby continued to sob for a few seconds before stuttering silently. "S-She d-dumped m-me."

Weiss couldn't quite hear her. "What did you say?"

"She dumped me," Ruby repeated, this time louder.

"What? W-Why?" Weiss didn't understand how someone could do such a thing.

"She came in and I hugged her and we were being all lovey-dovey for a while, as we always were. Then we went out for lunch and she insisted that she'd pay and then when it was all done, she said that we should go our separate ways. She said that this long distance thing doesn't work. While I'm inclined to agree, it still shattered me because I really wasn't prepared for it."

Weiss pulled the two of them to their feet and led them to a nearby bench. She then pulled Ruby closer to her, nuzzling Ruby's shoulder into her neck where she could cry her heart out.

* * *

After calming down, Ruby breathed in the white-haired girl's perfume, mixed with sweat the both of them accrued in the practice. The smell of Weiss's perfume was still a very distinct mint, though. She pulled away and looked down at the floor.

"I still loved her, you know. I could barely wait to see her again and then she does something like that… Seemingly out of the blue. I admit that I was checking other girls out, but I remained faithful to her even when the urge got me bad. And I  _know_  she was checking other girls out too. We even did it together sometimes."

"I'm still here for you Ruby. Whenever you need me."

"Thanks a lot for that, snowflake."

The two girls then sat there in silence for a moment. "Well, now that I'm single again, at least I don't have to worry about how my partner is feeling, so it's not all bad, I guess."

Weiss chuckled slightly. She then stood up, extending a hand to Ruby. "Come on, it's getting dark and it'll start raining soon. Let's go so we don't get soaked on the way home and catch a cold or worse." Ruby took the offered hand and then followed her roommate.

_I wasn't ready for this, I really wasn't. I know it shouldn't shock me as much as it did, but I can't help it._

The two girls arrived at the dorm and took a shower, Ruby going in first as she'd only take a few minutes while Weiss usually occupied the bathroom for at least half an hour. Ruby came out of the bathroom wearing her usual sleeping outfit: a black tank top with a white heart on it and white pants decorated with roses. She crashed on her bed and in that moment the rain started pouring like it was judgment day.

Weiss got out of the bathroom a while later, looking slightly scared. Ruby's keen eyes noticed that immediately.

"What's wrong, snowflake?"

"I… Umm…"

"Come here, tell me."

Weiss got over to Ruby's bed, her light blue sleeping gown fluttering as she did so. She sat down on Ruby's bed and Ruby noticed that Weiss was looking at her in a weird way.

"Weiss?"

"I'm… A little ashamed of this, and I know it's a weird time for you and all… But I was wondering…" Her voice trailed off.

"What, Weiss?"

Ruby could see Weiss mustering up her courage to say something. She patiently waited for the white-haired girl to tell what pained her.

"W-Would you mind if I slept in your bed tonight?", she finally said with a blush.

Ruby's eyes widened at the question. "Sure, you can sleep in my bed, but why exactly?"

"I'm a…" Weiss said something that Ruby couldn't hear.

"I couldn't hear you, Weiss."

"I'm kind of sort of scared of thunderstorms." As if to test her phobia, a loud thunder boomed at that same second, which made Weiss jump at Ruby, the taller girl barely managing to catch her before she fell over the other side of the bed.

"Woah, snowflake, calm down," Ruby said, holding Weiss by the waist. "I see you're telling the truth. Come." Ruby let go and lifted the bed cover so Weiss could snuggle into Ruby.

Ruby took the position of the big spoon while lying on her left side, gently caressing Weiss's right arm with her own right hand. Ruby then lifted herself so that she could kiss the other girl's cheek. "Good night, snowflake."

"Good night, Ruby."

Ruby nuzzled her head into Weiss's long hair and took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of mint that emanated from it.

Another thunder roared and Weiss shivered, but Ruby whispered a soft "shh" into her ear and caressed her arm again.

 _I could definitely get used to this delicate girl sharing my bed,_  Ruby thought with a hint of a smile as she fell asleep.

* * *

Weiss woke up, feeling an arm around her midsection and a whole body on her back, which startled her for a moment until she remembered she made up a fear of thunder as an excuse to get in bed with Ruby, something she wanted to do for a while now but couldn't as she didn't want to get Ruby away from her now ex-girlfriend.

Weiss pressed backwards a little more, just to get that extra square inch or two of Ruby's body pressing on her own.

She loved everything about the girl currently hugging her. Her eyes, her voice, her hair, her face, her smell, her body, how badass she looked while teaching taekwondo, her confidence and charisma and much more. She wanted to shower her with kisses all over but she knew she shouldn't push it as she seemed pretty upset the day before at the loss of her girlfriend.  _I can still fantasize about it, like last night when I closed my eyes and we were kissing passionately again, on this very bed, her mouth gently exploring my neck and collar and… Hold it right there, Weiss._

Weiss felt Ruby stirring so she turned around to face her when she woke up. Her eyelids fluttered and showed the wonderfully mesmerizing grey eyes to Weiss. She saw the pupils dilate for a moment as Ruby felt surprise at the scene that presented itself before her, but that quickly turned into eyes that radiated happiness, to which Ruby's grin was like a proof. Ruby leant in to kiss Weiss on her cheek.  _I could just turn my head a bit and she'd kiss me on the lips, it'd be so easy and undoubtedly sweet… No, Weiss, she's still fragile from what happened yesterday!_

The kiss was over as soon as it began and Weiss had to hold back a sigh of slight disappointment.

"Morning, snowflake," Ruby said with her sleepy voice. "Did you sleep well?"

Weiss nodded and blushed slightly. "I have to tell you something…"

"You're not really afraid of thunder? I know that."

Weiss looked at Ruby with a surprised expression and then blushed intensely. "Then why did you…"

"I thought it'd be nice to share a bed with someone after quite a long time. And I wasn't wrong," she added with a grin that threatened to split her head in two. Weiss blushed even harder.  _At least she sounds like she's back to normal. Maybe that means I should kiss her… No, it most certainly doesn't!_

"Umm, actually it was something else I wanted to tell you, but eventually I was planning to tell you that I lied about my phobia."

"So what is it?" Ruby looked at her expectantly.

"Well, you told me I should tell you when my ballet class will be performing. We're performing in three weeks in the school's theatre. You know, for the festival. Somehow it slipped my mind."

"I'll be in the first row," Ruby said without missing a beat, running her hand down Weiss's side slowly, the fabric of her sleeping gown making the touch smooth. This made Weiss take a long breath as she felt a tingling sensation between her legs.

"Annnnd I'm fully awake," Weiss suddenly said and jumped upwards to disappear in the bathroom, leaving behind a befuddled but smiling Ruby.

* * *

_She's so cute when she's turned on._

_God damn it, Ruby, you just got dumped yesterday, are you serious?_  Ruby mentally hit herself for acting like a thirteen-year-old boy. Yet she couldn't help but to snake her left hand down her flat belly and under the fabric of her pants, going just a little lower to feel the moist spot right at the centre where her legs joined together and she sighed quietly at the feeling her fingers left at the touch. It has been too long, she decided and continued to rub the spot through her underwear, each rub eliciting a short breath from her mouth as she closed her eyes, imagining that the hand was actually Weiss's and that she was kissing one of her breasts as well. Her right hand went up to caress one of them as if on cue. Soon enough she was in ecstasy, adding speed to her rubbing, now imagining Weiss's undoubtedly soft and warm tongue at the spot her left hand was servicing, Ruby's breaths starting to become more and more erratic, a quiet moan escaping her lips from time to time.

The release hit the girl hard as her whole body started shaking from pleasure, her mouth open wide but no sound coming from it. When she finally got back to her senses, she nervously checked the room to see if Weiss was there for some reason, but was relieved when she saw the empty room and that the other girl was still in the bathroom, water running in the sink as the innocent girl probably brushed her teeth.  _I don't feel bad because of it, though. I needed this almost as much as I need food and water._

Her breathing returned to normal as Weiss finally got out of the bathroom, dressed in a white aristocrat jacket with a light blue cravat, radiant and ready to face the day. Ruby took some clothing and replaced Weiss in the bathroom, sending a small wink to the other girl before entering and smiling proudly as she saw the white-haired girl blush at the wink.

Brushing her teeth, Ruby found herself thinking about Weiss.  _Do I really want to date her or do I just want to get her out of her clothes?_

_Yes._

_That's not helping._

_But it's the truth._

_I know, that's why it isn't helping. I'm not sure which one is more true._

_Ruby, you know exactly what you want to do. Stop acting like you don't._

_Should I wait, though? Would she think of me as a slut if I asked her right now? It did only happen yesterday, after all._

The inner debate didn't lead to definite conclusions, so Ruby dropped it, instead filling her thoughts with fantasies of the way Weiss's body felt against her own, how her perfume invaded her senses and calmed her down, how cute she was when she was blushing and similar stuff.

Ruby then realized that she's been brushing her teeth for at least five minutes. She washed the toothpaste foam out of her mouth and put on her clothing for the day, a red t-shirt with golden print saying "Never forget what you are" and a pair of simple black sweatpants. She also put a black sweater with red patterns over the t-shirt as it was starting to get quite cold lately. Luckily for her, it was Saturday so she didn't have anything that needed to be done.

When she got out of the bathroom, she suddenly remembered to ask something.

"Hey, Weiss, I forgot to ask you before. Why were you lying about being afraid of thunder?"

Weiss blushed before taking her eyes off the notebook she was currently writing something in. "I-I… I guess I just… Wanted to cheer you up some. And to thank you for being as good a friend as you were up to now."

Ruby laughed. "Well, you succeeded in that regard. So, it's Saturday. Do you have any plans?"

"I'll have to go practicing ballet. I somehow forgot how exactly the routine was supposed to go."

"I wouldn't want you to forget something as important as that. Well then, I'll be studying here. Call me when you want to grab lunch or something."

"I will. See you later, then!"

Ruby returned the goodbye with a smile.

* * *

Weiss walked towards the school building, taking in the cold late November morning, avoiding the small puddles of water the rain left behind. She had a school bag over her shoulder with practice clothes. There was a mist that made it hard to see clearly, but Weiss managed to get to the school without bumping into anyone. It helped that it was Saturday and most of the people were still sleeping, though.

As soon as she walked into the school and towards the stairs, a familiar voice demanded her attention. Weiss sighed in frustration.

"Hi there, sweet cheeks. What are you doing here so early in the morning, on a Saturday, no less?"

"I could ask you the same question, Cardin."

"Well, to answer your question, I'm an early riser and I hate having nothing to do."

"Good for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

"You don't have classes, it's Saturday! Come on, let's go and grab some coffee."

"Cardin, leave me alone."

As if he didn't hear her, he got closer to her, trying to grab her hand. Weiss could smell the cigarette he undoubtedly just finished smoking and held her breath, trying not to inhale the foul smell. Apparently Cardin took that as a sign of fear.

"Not so brave without your little girlfriend, huh, sweet cheeks?"

"She's not my girlfriend and I said leave me alone!", Weiss yelled, yanked away from him and positioned herself into a combat stance.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You too? Don't make me laugh. I just want to grab a cup of coffee with you."

"Cardin, I'm not interested in you, and frankly, I don't like you. So just leave me alone and I'll ask nothing else of you." Weiss could feel her blood boiling with every passing second she spent looking at his dumb, smug face.

"So that's it? You're a fucking dyke too?"

That was too much. "Oh, so now I'm a dyke just because I don't offer myself to every boy that passes me, no matter how disgusting he might be?" She clenched her fists even harder. "And to answer your question, yes,  _yes,_ I am gay. And I can  _get_  prettier girls than you  _dream_  of."

"That's it. You're going down and then I'm going in. Dry."

He charged towards Weiss.  _Ruby was right, he doesn't have any idea what he's doing._  Weiss easily dodged him. The force with which Cardin propelled himself forward was too much to stop him before he hit the wall behind Weiss. He picked himself up, fuming at the fact that he got so easily tricked.

"Okay, sweet cheeks. If you want to dance, then let's dance."

He started throwing punches, Weiss somehow struggling to block or dodge the hits as she wasn't really used to deflecting punches. She tried to watch for openings as she deflected a flurry after flurry of punches, occasionally hitting his midsection with a well-aimed kick. But the hits didn't seem to faze the bully.

She got hit a few times, but luckily the punches were deflected just enough that she wasn't hit squarely in the face or with full strength. Then one blow got her in the chest and she had to make a few steps backwards, trying to catch her breath. Cardin looked at her with a smug smile on her face.

"It's been fun while it lasted, but you'd better start getting wet, sweet cheeks. You wouldn't want it to hurt, would you?"

His overconfidence made Weiss see that he wasn't defending himself, thinking she was done. She used his momentary lapse of judgment to extend her left leg and hit him square in the chest and before he could realize what happened, she pulled the leg back and extended again, this time hitting his nose. Cardin fell on the ground, holding his nose and screaming in pain while still trying to calm his breathing from the hit he received in the chest. Weiss went over to him.

"You disgust me. Never come close to me again or I'll knock you out cold." With those words Weiss started walking up the stairs, feeling good about herself, mentally thanking Ruby for coming up with the idea of teaching her to defend herself.  _Actually, I should tell her right now._  She took out her phone, sparing one last look at Cardin, who was lying on the floor, clutching his nose while blood ran down the side of his face.

"Heya, snowflake. What's up?"

"Hey, Ruby. Just wanted to tell you that your lessons are helping."

"Weiss, what happened? Who dared to touch my snowflake? Are you okay?", Ruby's concerned voice came from the other end. "I'll come there and kill…"

"Slow down, Ruby. I'm perfectly fine. Cardin was trying some stuff again and he got to smell the sole of my shoe for his troubles."  _The time I spent with her these past few months really hit my vocabulary._

"He did  _what_?"

"He tried to get in my pants again, so I told him to stop, and he didn't, and now he's lying down in the middle of the lobby, clenching his broken nose with his hands. You might even hear him scream if you listen carefully," she said with a smile.

Weiss took the phone away from her ear and hoped that Ruby could hear the screams of agony coming from below. After a long moment, she put the phone back to her ear.

"You heard that?"

"Yup. I'm so proud of you, snowflake."

"Thank you, Ruby. See you later for lunch."

Weiss ended the call.  _She said I'm her snowflake,_  she thought to herself happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does it look like I really, really dislike Cardin? Completely not intentional. (*whistles*)
> 
> Also, for those that will say I spent two chapters building up Ruby's relationship just to annul it now, Ruby's now ex-girlfriend has not left the story yet.
> 
> Good news! I'm very close to finishing chapter 9, which is the final chapter of this story. This means updates will become more frequent, namely Wednesdays and Saturdays. This brings the finale on Valentine's Day, if my calculations are correct. So, um, yeah. Not intentional at all.


	4. Ghosts of my past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss tells Ruby about her inner demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I don't usually do this, but just in case, take this note as a disclaimer: This chapter contains a scene of religion being used to achieve stuff. I do not condone neither Bible-thumping nor Bible-bashing. Any comments of the sort will be deleted on sight, so don't bother with them. Remember, being a dick to intolerant people makes you intolerant as well. Also, the description of said scene may be disturbing to some of you. I tried to keep it mild, but it can't be considered innocent either. This chapter also contains lemons, the only lemons in this story. You have been warned.

Ruby awoke suddenly, startled at the screams coming from within the room.

"No… Please! Don't… I'll… Anything! Please!"

The screaming voice was coming from the bed next to her. Ruby jolted, turned on the nightlight on her nightstand and then jumped to the other bed, seeing Weiss thrash around it, sweating and with closed eyes, her nightmare obviously severe. She did the first thing that came into mind. She grabbed the smaller girl by the shoulders.

"Weiss, wake up! Calm down, it's just a dream!"

"No! Leave… Alone! Please! Anything… Superior! Please… Mother!"

Ruby jumped on the bed, pressing the flailing body to hers in a vain attempt to calm down or wake up the screaming girl.

"Weiss, it's me, Ruby."

"Please, it hurts! I'll be a good girl, Mother Superior! I swear! I swear!"

"Weiss! I'm not Mother Superior. It's me, Ruby! Please, my dear snowflake, wake up, it's just a dream! Please!"

Ruby was now on the verge of tears, pressing the smaller body into hers as it continued flailing violently and screaming things that didn't make sense to the girl holding her.  _What kind of sick camp did her parents send her to?_

"Snowflake, please, wake up! Everything will be okay, just open your eyes! Please!"

Ruby kept her gaze at the aristocrat's still closed eyelids. Suddenly, the body stopped flailing and the eyes swung open, looking at Ruby with unforeseen dread. Then Weiss started crying uncontrollably and Ruby did her best to turn around in a way that Weiss could be on top of her, crying in the black tank top.

Ruby looked at her roommate in shock while Weiss continued sobbing and wailing at the horror her mind decided to show her.  _She'd never had nightmares like this before._  She did wake up screaming from time to time, but never like this. Ruby started gently caressing the long white hair, something that always seemed to calm the white-haired girl down, adding a soft "shh" from time to time as the crocodile tears continued to soak her tank top.

Slowly but surely, Weiss's crying started to die down and soon enough crying turned into sobbing.

"Ru-Ruby…"

"I'm here, snowflake. Nobody's going to hurt you, I promise."

"Th-Thank you s-so much."

"Don't mention it."

"I-I…"

"Shh, don't strain yourself." She kissed the top of the sobbing girl's head, never stopping the hair caressing. She could feel Weiss melt under her kiss.

"K-Kiss me."

"What did you say, snowflake?"

"Kiss me. P-Please."

Ruby, surprised at the request, kissed the top of Weiss's head again.

"N-No. Not t-there."

"Then where?"

Weiss lifted her head and one hand, putting a finger on her lips. "H-Here."

Ruby stared at her roommate incredulously. "W-Weiss, I don't want to take advantage of you."

"P-Please, Ruby."

Weiss looked at her with tears in her eyes and Ruby couldn't help but drown in those beautiful sky blue eyes. She took Weiss's face in one hand and brought it up to lay a small peck on her lips. Ruby let out a silent yelp of surprise as Weiss almost threw herself in the kiss, deepening it much more than Ruby felt was comfortable, especially with the emotional state Weiss was currently in.  _It feels like I'm using her._ Weiss continued the kiss, moaning in Ruby's lips every now and then and suddenly, Ruby felt a tongue licking at her bottom lip.  _It's not like I don't want this, but it just doesn't feel right._

She pushed Weiss away from the kiss. "Weiss. Please, you're scaring me."

The tears started to well in the other girl's eyes again. "Don't you like it? I thought you like me."

"Weiss, I do. I like you very, very much. It just feels wrong kissing you in your current state."

"Why?"

"You're scared. Scared of what you were dreaming about, scared of your past, and I feel like I'm using you."

"You're not using me. I want this myself."

"I know, snowflake. Just, please, this isn't you. You might regret this in the morning."

"I won't regret anything. I want you to kiss me."

Weiss leaned in again, but Ruby caught her face in her hands. "Weiss, please, listen to me. I want to kiss you too. I want to so bad, but not like this. You're not yourself right now."

Weiss fell down on Ruby, starting to cry again. "Sorry, Ruby. I'm so terribly sorry."

"Hey, hey. Don't be like that. Look, I'll share the bed with you for the night, okay? I'll protect you, I swear."

Weiss nodded into the pillow, wriggling her hands under Ruby's body so she could embrace her. Ruby arched her back a little to give her more room to do it.  _I'd be lying if I said I don't enjoy sharing the bed with her._   _Or that I didn't enjoy the kiss, however wrong it felt._ She turned around so she was on her side, pressing the smaller girl in her embrace, kissing her on the forehead.

"Now try to fall asleep again. I won't leave you, I swear."

Weiss nodded again, this time into Ruby's chest as she snuggled a bit lower. The taller girl didn't mind Weiss's face in her bosom and closed her eyes, her free hand caressing the long flowing hair of the distressed and gently shaking girl in her embrace.

* * *

Weiss woke up feeling warm, her face obstructed by something soft, smooth and somewhat pointy. She opened her eyes, but all she could see was a small part of a white shape of some sort and the black colour of the fabric. The softness felt extremely nice against her cheek, so she started rubbing her face in it while purring in pure bliss. Then she heard a giggle and she jumped up, scared, and met Ruby's mischievous gaze and smile. She looked down at where her face was not ten seconds ago and her face turned red with vicious speed. Ruby laughed out loud at that point.

"Oh, hot damn! Snowflake, you're so adorable!", Ruby managed to say through the laughter. Weiss put on an angry face.

"It's not funny, Ruby."

"Oh, but it is! What did you think it was, a heated pillow?"

"No! I-I…" Weiss wanted to say something,  _anything_  to stop Ruby from laughing, but nothing came out of her mouth. "I… It just felt good."

"I'm not going to lie, snowflake, I liked it a lot. Probably a lot more than I should have." She then added with a wide smile and a hearty laugh, "And judging by your purring, so did you."

"I most certainly did  _not_  purr, you dolt!"

"Yes you did, and it was the most adorable thing I've ever heard!"

"I… I…"

Weiss looked down in defeat.

"Come here," Ruby said, offering a hug with arms wide open. A little reluctantly, Weiss accepted the offer. Ruby's arms came crashing down around her body and Weiss let out a whimper at the force.

"Oh, snowflake. I love sweet treats, but you'll give me diabetes if you keep this up."

The two of them lay there, enjoying each other's embrace. Weiss then recalled something.

"Ruby… I'm so utterly sorry for tonight."

"Why would you be sorry?"

"B-Because I nearly forced myself on you."

"You didn't force yourself on me, snowflake. All you wanted was to kiss me. And be honest, do you still want to?"

Weiss blushed, but answered immediately, though quietly. "Yes."

Ruby giggled. "Then you really don't need to be sorry. And I'm not lying when I say I enjoyed it. I just didn't want to go too far. One thing I do want to know, that is if you want to tell me about it, how come you were shaking and screaming so violently?"

Weiss hesitated. "When I'm nervous, my nightmares get much more intense than usual."

"Why are you nervous?"

"Well, all the schoolwork, the ballet routine for the festival which is just a couple days away, taekwondo tournament that the festival will hold a week later, worrying about my parents when they find out I'm sharing a room with another of my kind…"

Ruby put a finger over Weiss's mouth. "Weiss. Worry about anything  _but_  your parents if you really must. I've already told you that if they throw you away, my father will take you under his roof."

"But they're still my parents, Ruby. They made me, they raised me…"

"And they hate how you came up. Those are not loving parents in my book."

"But the thing is, they were loving parents. Before they… Caught me…"

"I don't want to argue with you. What was the nightmare?"

"Well…" Weiss looked away and closed her eyes. "I was at the camp and I got punished because I didn't pray fervently enough, which, they said, was the reason the devil wouldn't let go of me."

"Did what you dreamt about really happen?"

Weiss just nodded.

"Those insensitive… I'm not even going to finish that sentence, they aren't worth it."

"And the punishment was a bath in holy water. I was still bruised at the time from my parent's… Loss of temper and the salt in the water burned like hell. I cried for them to let me out, but to no avail. I had to burn there for almost a whole hour, Ruby!" Tears started welling in her eyes again and she started choking on her words. "I c-could barely m-move for the n-next few d-days, a-and the worst t-thing was…"

Tears won over as Weiss buried her face in Ruby's neck again. Ruby started caressing Weiss's hair again, trying to calm the smaller girl down. Cries slowly turned to sobs and Weiss felt comfortable with continuing the story.

"T-The worst thing was I-I… Had to be n-naked and they m-made me… Walk b-back to my room like t-that."

Ruby squeezed the smaller girl closer to her, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "How horrible. Weiss, I swear, if they try something like that again, I will make sure to defend you, no matter what. I won't allow anyone to lay a finger at you without facing the consequences."

* * *

"Please, don't let me go, Ruby."

"I won't," Ruby said while patting her back. "I won't. I swear."

"I love you, rosebud."

 _Did she say what I think she said? Why is this such an emotional moment for me? Should I say that back to her? And did she just call me rosebud?_  Ruby lifted Weiss so they looked each other in the eye.

"Come again?"

"I said I love you."

"No, no, I heard that. What did you call me?"

"R-Rosebud."

Ruby watched into those sky blue orbs, drowning in them, speechless. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out of it.

Weiss looked as if she was about to cry again. "S-Sorry, I shouldn't…"

"I love you, Weiss. I love you and the nickname."

"Really?"

Ruby just nodded. Weiss took that as a cue to assault the taller girl's lips, and this time, Ruby didn't hold back. She pressed herself into the kiss with a force of a prepubescent boy receiving a chocolate bar, her mouth opening as if prompted, just like Weiss's, and the tongues battled for dominance out in the open as the hands of both girls went up and down the sides of the other.  _Her lips and tongue are just as sweet as I thought. Hell, even sweeter._

Weiss was the one to break the kiss, gasping for air with the strand of saliva that connected their lips shivering wildly in the wind both girls' mouths made. Ruby was breathing heavily, watching Weiss in awe.

"Snowflake, I didn't know you're such a good kisser!"

"Well, before my parents caught me, that girl and I were dating for two years so I had some time to practice," She said with a blush.

"Well I'll be damned. I can't wait to test how that silky tongue of yours performs somewhere else."

Weiss looked at Ruby, a hint of fear in her eyes. "D-Do you mean like… Now?"

Ruby grabbed Weiss by the shoulders. "We can take it slowly. Whenever you are ready. It could be today, next week, month, year, I don't care. I swear I'll wait and won't push."

Weiss had a devilish smile on her face. "Thank you, Ruby."  _Oh, no I didn't._ _Did she just..._

They kissed again, Weiss's left hand snaking up and down Ruby's torso, fingers gently running over her abdomen and, as Ruby noticed, lower and lower with every run. Not too long after that, Ruby felt that same hand exploring the rubber band of her pants, runs stopping at that point. Ruby grabbed that hand.

"Weiss, you don't have to."

The other girl just leaned into Ruby and playfully whispered in her ear: "Oh, but I want to, rosebud. To thank you for everything you've done for me, at least a little."

The whisper made Ruby moan without Weiss doing anything else _._ Her fingers then went under the rubber band and started playing at the summit, Ruby almost wanting to push them just slightly over the top so they would graze her already soaking wet entrance.

Weiss took the hand out of the pants. Ruby let out a soft whimper, now utterly horny. Weiss just giggled at the voice.

"And you claim I'm the adorable one in this relationship," she mused.

_God damn it, I fell into my own trap. I told her I won't push, now I have to endure everything._

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on stopping. It's just that you have way too much clothes on."

_And I thought I was doing the seducing here. Oh, damn, I'm so hot right now._

"Now I'm going to get back at you for all the teasing I had to endure since the day I met you."

"Wha-What do you mean, 'teasing'?"

"Really, rosebud? You don't remember all the times you made me blush with an inappropriate comment, all the times you were checking out my ass when you thought I wasn't looking and so forth?"

"Don't act like you weren't checking my ass out, snowflake. You're not the only one that can see things like that."

"Oh, I did. A lot.  _Especially_  when you were wearing the college uniform skirt. If you only knew how hot and bothered you had me on the first day when we checked out the uniforms."

Ruby was on the edge now. "God damn it, snowflake, I want to feel that ballet dancer ass of yours!"

"You said you wouldn't push me.  _I_  said nothing of the sort."

 _Oh, god damn, she's good._  Weiss's hands finally grabbed the rubber band of Ruby's pants and started pulling them down slowly, Ruby arching to make them slide effortlessly. Weiss took them off Ruby's feet with a single motion and threw them at the wall and looked down to see the underwear her roommate was wearing.

"Red lace? You naughty,  _naughty_  girl."

 _God damn it, Weiss, I swear if you don't get to it soon I'll have to break my promise._ Ruby moaned at the warm voice and the vibration of it on her ear. Weiss then gently nipped at the earlobe, which made Ruby gasp. Her lips then moved towards the dark-haired girl's neck, planting wet kisses along the way and sucking one spot for long enough to leave a bite. Ruby moaned with every kiss. After what felt like eternity but was more likely half a minute, Ruby felt two hands gently tugging at the lace that covered her crotch. She arched herself again so the panties would slide off easily, but Weiss still took her sweet time before the panties finally slid off.  _Stop torturing me, for fuck's sake. Just do me already_.

Ruby's erratic breath made it hard for her to speak, but she tried her best. "Weiss… Please… Stop… The torture."

The addressee looked at her with puppy eyes. "B-But I thought you wanted me to enjoy this as much as I can."

"Weiss, please… Do I have to… Spell it out for you?"

Weiss stopped what she was doing and put a finger on her chin, as if thinking. "Hmm, nope. Not spell." She leaned in Ruby's ear again. "I want you to beg me to fuck you."

Ruby let out a long gasp. "Well? I'm waiting."

"B-But I've… Asked you to… Stop the torture."

"I didn't say that I want you to  _ask_  me to stop the torture. I said I want you to  _beg_  me to  _fuck_  you."

"God damn it Weiss, please, stop the games and fuck me already!"

"I'll think about it." Another devilish grin was pasted on the white-haired girl's face and Ruby whimpered loudly, horny as hell.

"Weiss, I can't take this anymore!  _Please,_  I'm  _begging_  you,  _fuck_  me, take me, have me, anything, just do it, please!"

Weiss planted a wet kiss on the taller girl's mouth. When she pulled away, she said: "There. Was that so hard?"

With that, Weiss's head disappeared from Ruby's immediate view. She looked down and noticed that Weiss currently held her head between Ruby's legs, staring at the entrance as if in trance while caressing the inner thighs with her nails. Ruby's already ragged breathing grew even more abrupt and louder and she nearly screamed for Weiss to fuck her again when the aristocrat finally took mercy and kissed the outer lip.

"Shit! Fuck!" Ruby's mind was blank save for a few expletives that spoke of her ecstasy as a wave of pleasure jolted through her body at a simple kiss to the outer lip. The lips of the other girl moved to the other side, kissing the outer lips again, this time with a hint of the tongue. Ruby cried out: "Weiss!"

Suddenly, Ruby felt her roommate's breath at her lips again. "You called?", she asked with an innocent voice.

"Fuck, Weiss, no more games,  _please_! I seriously can't take it anymore!"

As if to prove her point, Ruby felt her left hand reach for her vagina instinctively, but Weiss was quick to notice that and smacked the hand away.

"That pussy is mine now. Not yours. I do with it as I please. Understand?"

 _Oh, she's_ so _good._ Ruby nodded as she felt a nibble at her neck again. This broke her and she brought up her hands to push Weiss towards her nether region.

"I thought you said you won't push me," Weiss said with the sexiest voice she could muster.

"And I didn't know you're going to torture and tease me this much!"

"Heh. Poor girl. So you want me to take you out of your misery?"

"Yes! Oh, fuck, yes!"

Weiss chuckled and led her head down again to see Ruby's pussy, absolutely drenching the bed with her fluids and she barely even touched it. She then looked at Ruby who looked back with pleading eyes. Weiss then slowly ran a finger between the outer and inner lips, not breaking the eye contact, which almost drove Ruby insane and she let out a scream of pleasure unlike anything she ever had before.  _Holy shit fuck, she's going to kill me before fucking me_!

Weiss then brought her lips closer and let out a hot breath, which led to Ruby letting out another loud moan.

What followed was something Ruby hadn't even hoped to feel as she didn't know something like that could be experienced. First, Weiss added another finger into the mix, now servicing both sides at the same time, but then, when she added her tongue, the pleasure the contact provoked made Ruby let out a scream so loud Weiss thought the building would fall because of it.

Weiss now took the fingers away, put them together and slowly inserted them into Ruby's vagina while her tongue serviced the small nub at the top of the vagina, plunging Ruby so deep into ecstasy she hoped she would never wake up from as she was sure that it wasn't real life. Weiss started pumping her fingers slowly while sucking on the clitoris and every pumping motion was accompanied with another scream from the hopeless girl who thought was the seducer of the couple.

One more shudder and Ruby felt like she literally exploded as she squirted just at the moment Weiss removed her mouth from the clitoris, which resulted in spraying it all over her face. For a while Ruby didn't hear her own thoughts as she continued shaking and spraying small amounts of her cum over Weiss's bed.

When Ruby finally regained her senses, she noticed Weiss was lying next to her with a drenched face, looking Ruby straight in the eye, grinning.

"You're evil, snowflake."

"I'm evil? Remind me, rosebud, who was it that sprayed her cum all over my  _face_?"

"I didn't even know I could. And it's your fault. If you hadn't tortured me this much…"

"Are you going to deny  _loving_  every second of it?"

"I… I just…"

" _Are you_?"

Ruby gulped. "No, snowflake."

"Thought so."

"You're still evil."

"Maybe," Weiss said with a devilish grin.

She then stood up. "I need to take a shower, I'm filthy. And look what you did to my bed!"

"C-Can I shower with you?"

"If you'll be a good girl. I'm just as drenched as you down there."

"I promise."

Weiss gestured with her index finger for Ruby to follow. Ruby struggled to even stand up, but somehow she managed to stumble her way into the bathroom.

* * *

"Undress."

One word, spoken in a commanding tone. The word brought an incredulous look on the still gently shaking girl who was dressed only above waist.

"What did I say?"

Ruby gulped and lifted her tank top over her head. Weiss noticed she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I rubbed my face in there and you didn't even have the decency to wear a bra?"

She walked over and whispered in Ruby's ear.

"You'd better do as you're told now or I'll have to spank you."

_I kind of like being the dominant one. I just hope she knows I'm just playing a game._

"Now undress me. Be gentle."

Ruby nodded without hesitation and lifted the aristocrat's sleeping gown from her body. Weiss was wearing a plain white bra and white panties with a red ribbon on them. Weiss could see that Ruby wanted to jump straight at her panties.

"Those come off last."

Ruby shook her head, as if waking from a trance. She put her hands around the smaller girl's body and started fidgeting with the clasp. When the bra came off, the perky breasts, a bit smaller than Ruby's were finally free for the other girl to bask in.

She was looking at them in a way that reminded Weiss of a fifteen-year-old that sees them for the first time.

"They won't bi… Ungh!"

The feeling of Ruby's lips on her nipple made her unable to finish the sentence and she let herself be carried away by the warm tongue making small circles around the areola. Suddenly, Ruby let go and leaned towards Weiss's ear.  _I've just dropped it, didn't I?_

"You've lost all the authority now, snowflake."

"Damn it," Weiss sighed in defeat.

Ruby chuckled at her reaction and gently smacked one of Weiss's butt cheeks, which made Weiss moan.

"You'll need to be much colder with me if you want to keep up the dominant persona. Now let me finally take a look at this ballet ass of yours!"

Before Weiss could argue, Ruby turned her around and slipped down her panties, kneeling to take a better look.

"For the love of all that is bacon, snowflake, your ass looks even better than I imagined!"

Weiss blushed.  _Well, I had my five minutes. Now I guess I'm back to my usual blushing self._  Ruby then stood up, offering a hand to Weiss, which she took and Ruby got the two of them in the shower. Once inside, she motioned for Weiss to lie down. She obliged, though she could barely fit in the shower doing so.

Ruby knelt while saying: "You're so beautiful, snowflake. I've waited so long to see you like this."

"P-Please don't torture me like I did back there."

"And just why shouldn't I?"

"I… I…"  _I guess I deserve it._

"But I won't be such a tease, don't worry." Weiss felt Ruby's body press on hers, their fully naked bodies finally making full contact and their lips clashing again, Weiss tasting that sweet aroma of Ruby's lips again. Ruby's hands explored the sides of the smaller girl's body which elicited a series of small moans.

Ruby added the tongue and lifted herself a bit so her hands would reach Weiss's breasts easily. She started kneading the small mounds, gently at first, but adding force steadily, gently pinching one nipple from time to time. Every time she did that, Weiss yelped a little and her breathing sped up.

Ruby broke the kiss and started going down the neck, planting kisses all the way down until she got to the chest. She took one nipple in her mouth and sucked on it gently while still giving the other one attention of her hands. Weiss arched her back at the feeling, wanting for Ruby to take in more of her.

It took her a good while, but Ruby finally let go of the nipple and started going down, still planting kisses over the whole body. Soon enough she got to the point where she could almost graze the smaller girl's clitoris, but instead of that, she started making small circles with her tongue at the top of the crotch. Weiss whimpered, silently pleading the girl to go on just a little bit more. But Ruby seemingly had other plans as she rose.

"Ruby… What are you…?"

Ruby took the shower head and started the water. She gave the shower head to Weiss.

"Clean your face."

"What?"

"You still have my cum all over your face. If it dries up, it won't make for a pretty sight."

Weiss nodded and started cleaning her face with the pleasantly warm water. She felt something warmer down below, though, and she let out a surprised scream. Looking down, she saw Ruby working her way around her dripping pussy, licking the outer lips up to the clit, then down the other side.

"Now give me the shower head."

Weiss did as she was told and Ruby continued licking, now spending more and more time at Weiss's clit while running the water over the other parts of her body. Weiss's moans turned into muffled screams of pleasure as she held one hand over her mouth to quiet herself a little.

Ruby then took away the tongue and replaced it with a shower head while her lips started sucking a spot at the inner thighs, not stopping until a bright red mark appeared at the spot. The feeling of warm water gently spraying the clit made Weiss scream loudly enough that the hand over her mouth didn't help much if at all. _Oh, my... That feels so good!_

When Ruby was done with the thigh hickey, the tongue returned to its old spot at the inner lips of the smaller girl's vagina, making laps around the entrance, occasionally slipping inside for a split second. The water continued to massage the clitoris and Weiss's screams were more and more frequent, at some point blending into one long, long scream of pleasure as she slowly lost all control of her body.

She didn't spray Ruby's face, but the orgasm was thundering nonetheless. It hit when Ruby's tongue was inside her pussy and Weiss felt it convulse and embrace the tongue tighter.

Ruby then got to Weiss's face, still running water all over their bodies.

"Don't worry, snowflake, I'll wash us both."

She then pressed the two of them in another heated kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, a super long lemon to make up for the more... graphic depiction of abuse Weiss endured. White rose got together now!
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading! Feel free to comment and bookmark. A huge thanks to those who bookmarked an commented on this.
> 
> See you next time!


	5. Dance, Dance Admiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss is getting ready for the very important dance.

Weiss paced the room nervously, speaking three words over and over again.

"I'm not ready, I'm not ready."

"Snowflake, please, calm down. You're not helping yourself by being so nervous."

The aristocrat ignored the girl that was sitting on her bed, watching her pace around the room with worried eyes. She continued to repeat the three word mantra as if her life depended on it.

Ruby sighed and looked at her wristwatch.  _Shit. The opening is in an hour, she has to get there soon. I have to calm her down._

The girl clad in red rose from her bed and went towards the girl that was apparently out of her mind. Ruby tried to grab one of her arms, but Weiss flailed and managed to take it out of the dark-haired girl's grasp. Ruby was more decisive the second time, jumping straight in front of Weiss and grabbing her shoulders.

"No, Ruby, let me go!"

"Weiss! Will you calm down and at least listen to me?"

"I can't… I'm not… It's bad…"

Weiss started muttering words that Ruby didn't find any sense in, so she decided to intervene in a different way. She pressed her lips to Weiss's and the receiver of the kiss let out a long breath through her nose.  _Thank heavens, at least she's not hyperventilating anymore._

Ruby pulled away and Weiss instinctively leaned in to reinitiate the kiss and made Ruby chuckle at the action.  _She's the cutest thing I've ever seen._

"Now, did you calm down at least a little?"

Weiss swallowed and exhaled. "Y-Yes. I'm fine."

"Now listen to me. The opening ceremony is in an hour. Drink something and we'll go down so you can get ready for your performance. And then you're going to go in backstage,  _not_  freak out, come on stage when your time comes, then dance your sexy little ass off and make this little girl right here," she gestured to herself with a thumb, "super proud to be your girlfriend. Do you hear me?"

Weiss nodded.

"No, no, no. This won't do. I asked 'Do you hear me?'"

"Yes," Weiss said in a low voice.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes." This time, the word was spoken a bit louder.

"Say it like you believe it!"

"Yes!"

"Good! Now tell me! What will you do?"

"I'll go out there and dance my sexy little ass off and make you proud to be my girlfriend!"

"You're god damn right, that's exactly what you'll do! Now have a drink of water and get ready to go down there!", Ruby exclaimed, gently smacking Weiss's super sexy petite ballet ass, as she dubbed it herself. The aristocrat jumped a little at the contact but said nothing as she went to prepare herself for the departure.

Ruby was watching her go about her business, thinking about the past few months since she first got to this college.  _I thought I will hardly find anyone to talk to. And look at me now, a taekwondo instructor with the cutest and prettiest girlfriend probably ever. Things changed a lot in just a few months. Nothing changed more than Weiss, though. She was a wreck back then. I'm glad I was around her. She's still not completely sure of herself, but she's getting there. She's been doing her assignments meticulously, as is expected from someone of her upbringing, but what changed the most is her character. She's pushing herself more and more towards the absolute maximum she can achieve and manages to tumble out of everything unfazed. She is getting into the character expected from an aristocrat. This dance, however…_

Ruby believed it was simply because it was her first official performance as a student and already in front of a couple thousand people that will be watching the ceremony. It would not be easy for her, but Ruby believed in her new girlfriend and she tried her best to calm her down and relieve the pressure she was feeling, seemingly to no avail.

Weiss was almost ready now and she made Ruby know that, not that it wasn't obvious from her being dressed in her ballet suit with her super long white hair tied into a semi-bun style, her waist-length hair way too long for a traditional bun. The remainder of the free falling hair was then taken by Ruby who dutifully braided it in a long braid that went halfway down the back. The dress was a simple white tight-fit onesie with a super frilly short skirt. Ruby couldn't hold back and took another playful smack at the ballet dancer's ass. Weiss looked at her with loving eyes, biting her own lip and gave Ruby a short kiss.  _I'll be taking you out of this dress tonight, snowflake, and you'll enjoy it immensely._

The pair walked out of the room side by side, though not holding hands as Weiss still wasn't too keen on showcasing her relationship, and Ruby understood.  _That doesn't mean I like it, though._  Ruby was the kind of girl that wanted to showcase her love at every step, showering Weiss with kisses and compliments until the girl was completely red from blushing. Weiss… She was more complicated, coming from a family that didn't approve of her orientation, that despised her love for girls. Ruby couldn't understand how Weiss could still harbour loving feelings for a family like that. Alas, Weiss made it clear that she still loved her family, simply for the fact that they were family.

Originally, Weiss told Ruby that they were going to perform in the school theatre. But the plans changed overnight when the influx of the students from three other colleges was so huge that most of the hotel rooms in the city were booked. The plan changed to an open air ceremony where three to four thousand people could easily watch it. Of course, the only place in the Fairbanks-Smith College that was large enough for a ceremony of that size was the lawn in front of it.  _Thank god it is sunny and not too cold, even though it is December already,_  Ruby thought to herself.

The stage itself was not too big and people in the back row would barely see anything, so there were two giant screens where the projection of the stage would be shown. The audience zone consisted of all the chairs the college had and it still wasn't enough seats for everyone.

On the way down to the stage, Ruby saw Cardin not too far from them. He still had black marks around his nose and was looking at the two of them with anger in his eyes. Ruby shot him a murderous glare and his anger turned into fear as he almost ran away in the other direction, which made Ruby chuckle.  _Not so tough now that your ass got handed to you by two girls separately, are you?_

When the pair got to the backstage entrance, Ruby got behind Weiss and put her hands on her shoulders, kneading gently to relieve another small amount of pressure off her. Ruby felt Weiss melt at the touch. Weiss loved Ruby's touch so bad they wouldn't even sleep in separate beds since a few days ago when they got together. Ruby suddenly remembered that moment.  _I was never so hot and bothered before. I have to get back at her for that one day._

Ruby released the grip and Weiss turned around to face her. Or at least, tried to face her as she was a few inches shorter than usual, Ruby wearing a simple red cocktail dress with black frills that really pronounced her bosom and on her feet she wore a four inch dress shoes that matched her hair and dress perfectly. Weiss stood up on her fingers, barely reaching Ruby's mouth with her own and they shared a quick peck before Ruby held her in a hug.

* * *

"Remember, snowflake, go out there and make me proud."

"I will, rosebud. I will."

They parted and Ruby watched her disappear into the backstage and instead of going for a seat, she quickly jumped into town to take care of some stuff she believed had to be done.

Weiss took a deep breath and stepped in the ballet class changing room. Miss Garland was already there, dressed and with makeup done.  _She looks extremely well for a woman in her fifties,_  Weiss noticed. When she saw her teaching, she always looked different. Still very prim and proper, but not nearly as joyous or with that much makeup. Weiss was sure that the teacher's happiness will help her get through the performance easier. She also noticed a few other students from her ballet class there, already fixing their makeup.

"Miss Schnee, you're here at last! Come, come, you must show me the routine again so I can make sure it's as perfect as it's supposed to be. Not that you ever try to show anything less than perfection, of course."

It was days like these that made Weiss extremely happy to work with this woman. It even brought a smile on her face as she nodded. "Yes, Miss Garland, let's do this."

The teacher motioned for Weiss to follow and she obliged. Miss Garland led them to a room that was about the size of the stage. The two of them got in and shut the door behind them, the teacher quickly moving towards the radio in the corner of the room.

"Position yourself, Miss Schnee, we have no time to lose!"

Weiss hurried at her spot and readied herself for the start of her routine.  _Okay, like you practiced. One, two, three._

The music, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B flat minor, started gently playing and Weiss started moving in rhythm. She closed her eyes and just let herself go with the flow of the gentle music. The two minutes the routine lasted for passed by so quickly that Weiss was almost sad when the music stopped.

"That was marvellous, dear," Miss Garland spoke up with her slightly touched voice, a voice that Weiss hadn't heard before. She was always this extremely serious lady that never showed her emotions, yet somehow now she was using a voice that meant nothing but admiration. Weiss felt like she just grew two inches.  _I can't fail now. I won't fail now._

"Now go and get your makeup done," the teacher said, back to her usual tone. Weiss nodded and took a quick step towards the changing room and in front of her mirror. She started applying the foundation when one of the girls started talking.

"Miss Garland is something else today, isn't she?"

The girl had mid-back-length black hair tied in a bun and deep brown eyes. Her facial features were unmistakably from Far East. Weiss wasn't really sure of the difference, but this girl seemed of Japanese heritage to her. She was born in Britain, though, so she didn't have even a slight accent. She was wearing the same outfit as Weiss. Her usual bow on the top of the head was removed for the performance, but Weiss knew it somehow represented her. She was usually very quiet so it was kind of weird for Weiss to hear her speak first. But the girl seemed clearly bent on talking with her that day.

"I have never seen her as jovial as she is today," Weiss answered.

"Exactly. And did you see her makeup? She's like a queen, the only thing she's missing is a crown."

Weiss chuckled. "I guess. Will she be performing too?"

"Probably. It seems like a waste to dress up like that just to watch the ceremony, don't you think?"

"Well, some people have weird hobbies."

"They do. At least weird hobbies are better than mindless hate, though."

Weiss felt confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Just how even in the twenty-first century some people are still discriminated upon simply because they're different."

_Shit. Does she know I'm homosexual?_

"Is someone discriminating against you?", Weiss asked, trying to mask her fear.

"Why do you assume I was talking about myself?"

 _Damn it, how do I pull myself out of this?_ "Well… You are from another country and I thought…"

"I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm being discriminated against, but it's not really that much of a deal to me anymore. I was talking more about  _you_ , Weiss."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I saw you with the girl in a red dress before you got in. You seemed to enjoy her company a lot, but at the same time, there was fear in your eyes. The same fear I see now."

Weiss noticed she was shaking now. "I… It…"

"You made the farewell kiss so extremely short and I saw it pained you, that you wanted to give her a more proper goodbye. It's hard, isn't it? Hiding a part of what you are?"

Weiss was conflicted. On one hand, she was afraid of what the girl would say to her, but on the other, she seemed nice enough so far and didn't seem to mind her orientation.

"Yes," she finally uttered. "It is."

"Then why hide it?"

 _I can't tell you that._  "I… That'll be enough."

She looked away, but could feel the girl's gaze on her face. Suddenly, the girl went behind Weiss and gently put a hand over her shoulder. Weiss was startled for a moment but then felt no hostility at the touch.

"I just wanted to say that I realize how you feel. And that I don't judge you. I wanted you to know that I know, but don't mind. That I accept you, and will comfort you if need be. Even if you have that girl, know that even if you didn't, you wouldn't be alone in this like I was before coming to terms with it. Even if your secret can be somehow hidden and mine can't be at all."

Weiss felt all warm inside.  _There's someone else that accepts me even when knowing what I am._  Her confidence jumped through the roof at that point.

"Thank you, Blake," she said with a gentle squeeze of the hand at her shoulder. The raven-haired girl smiled.

"Miss Schnee, get ready, you're next. Miss Belladonna, you're immediately after her, so get ready as well," Miss Garland's gentle voice reminded the girls and they stood up to walk on stage.

* * *

Ruby was sitting in the front row, like she promised Weiss she would, with a single white rose in her hand, waiting for her love to come on stage. Which would be fine and dandy if the ceremony didn't keep going and going and going… Ruby was bored out of her mind and started drifting to sleep.

The people who spoke were talking about this and that, but Ruby paid no heed to them. Every now and then, the announcer would say that a dance or music number is about to come on, and Ruby perked up every time she heard those words. But Weiss was never one of the names that were mentioned and Ruby would sigh in sadness with every passing number. When she got there, it was still day, and it was night time already but there was still no mention of Weiss.

Finally, she heard the name she wanted to hear for so long.

"Thank you, headmaster Fairbanks, for that enlightening speech. And now it's time to let ourselves enjoy some nice, gentle ballet. There will be two solo acts now, first one being Weiss Schnee dancing to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B flat minor, followed by Blake Belladonna dancing to Brahms' Hungarian Dance no. 6! Sit back and let yourselves drown in beautiful music and the emotional dancing of the two fine young ladies of Fairbanks-Smith College!"

Ruby started clapping furiously.  _Finally._

The announcer left the stage and the lights grew dim. A familiar figure to Ruby positioned herself in the middle of the stage and her heart started beating faster at the mere sight of Weiss's figure. Somehow, this fragile but still very firm aristocrat made Ruby feel even more alive than she already felt before meeting her.

The music started playing and the lights went to Weiss. Ruby noticed her immaculate makeup and that she seemed not even a bit nervous. Then she started moving to the music and Ruby's mouth was agape before she could process what was happening. The movement was so alluring that it made the girl watching almost forget breathing. Then she jumped in the air with grace befitting a gazelle more than a human and started rotating on the spot as soon as she landed and the crowd started clapping, so Ruby joined in, clapping fervently while never taking her gaze off the perfect girl that was dancing like her life depended on it.

Then the music faded out and Weiss did a curtsy. Ruby blushed at the childlike nature of the curtsy, stood up and threw the white rose on stage. It landed not two feet from Weiss, who looked at the flower and then at the audience, immediately spotting the person responsible for it. Ruby knew Weiss blushed in that moment, but her foundation covered the blush perfectly.  _It's almost like she_ knew _I was going to do something like that._

Weiss then took the flower in her hands and smelled it. A wide smile was pasted on her face as she curtsied again and skittered off stage to give room to the girl that was mentioned before, but Ruby really paid no heed to her, sitting back in her chair as comfortable as possible and closed her eyes, trying to replay her girlfriend's dance in her mind, but she found it harder than she thought. _She'll repeat that for me. Maybe not tonight, but one day soon and that time I'll make sure to record it._

The ceremony went on for another hour and Ruby could barely sit still when the announcer finally said it was over. She stood up in an instant and bolted for the backstage entrance, waiting for Weiss to come out. It seemed like an eternity to Ruby, but finally she saw the familiar white hair and pale face, fit for a princess. She was laughing and talking with someone when she saw Ruby.

"Ruby!", she exclaimed and ran towards her. Ruby grinned as she saw the white rose in her hands just before she threw them around the taller girl and Ruby enthusiastically returned the embrace.

"You did like I told you. You danced your sexy little ass off and made me proud, snowflake."

"Thank you for the rose."

"You like it?"

"It's beautiful. Now let go of me so that they won't get suspicious."

Ruby did as she was told with great sadness in her eyes. Suddenly the girl that Weiss was talking with when she came out spoke up, her hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"Weiss, no. Stop caring about what people think of you. They sure as hell won't."

Ruby spoke to the girl. "I don't believe we met. I'm Ruby."

"I'm Blake."

Ruby looked at the newcomer.  _Nice dark hair, her face looks Japanese, she's taller than both of us and nicely built, though no contest for my snowflake. And is that… It is! She has a fricking bow on her head! Oh damn, the bow makes her look somehow like she has kitten ears!_  Ruby nearly squealed, but managed to hold it in, partially.

"Nice bow! Do you wear it often?"

"Always, except on stage and while I'm sleeping."

"You're really pulling it off, you know! Not many girls can wear those and  _not_  look like some anime character."

Blake smiled. "I've never seen someone pull off red like you do, Ruby."

"Oh, stop it. There's no way nobody can pull it off like me."

Weiss interfered. "Well, Ruby, Blake here is a friend that I didn't know I had until earlier."

Ruby looked at Blake with suspicion. The black-haired girl seemed to notice that. "What? If you're worried, I'm straight. Even if I wasn't, I wouldn't dream of breaking you two apart."

Weiss blushed slightly at the words and Ruby stood there for a second, dumbfounded. "What? I wasn't thinking of that! No, no, no, I was thinking more along the lines of 'How come Weiss didn't know you were a friend until earlier?'"

"Oh," Blake said. "Well, to be honest, she should tell you, not me."

"Let's just say Blake's a very  _accepting_  type of person," Weiss said to Ruby, "and that she's seen us before I got in."

"Oh. Well, a friend of Weiss is a friend of mine, Blake!"

Ruby extended her hand and Blake happily shook it.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?", Weiss asked Blake.

"Actually I do. A  _very_  good friend of mine was watching me tonight and I agreed to go on a dinner with him after, if you get what I mean. So I have to go look for him. Be good to each other," Blake said with a wink that made Weiss blush.

"Good luck and see you around!"

"Same to you two!"

The red and white couple found themselves alone as Blake disappeared into the night.

"Come on, snowflake," Ruby said with a mischievous grin, "let me take you out of this super tight dress. It must be  _killing_  you."

Weiss chuckled. "And I bet my 'super sexy petite ballet ass' has nothing to do with your intentions, right, rosebud?"

"Oh, snowflake," Ruby replied, looking Weiss in the eye lovingly, "you don't know  _half_  of it. Then again, I am hungry too. How 'bout I buy my girlfriend a dinner first?"

* * *

Weiss looked at Ruby who was holding out her arm.

"I'd love to have a dinner with you," she said, sliding her own arm just above Ruby's elbow. "Though I have to change into something warmer."

Ruby nodded and led the two of them towards the dorm. Once there, Weiss noticed Ruby was looking at her with puppy eyes.

"What is it, rosebud?"

"Oh, nothing," the other girl retorted, not breaking the puppy eye contact. "I was just hoping I could take you out of this  _super tight_  dress of yours."

Weiss laughed. "Not passing any chance to feel me up, do you? Come on, then. But make it quick."

"Yay!" Ruby jumped with a smile and Weiss shook her head.  _As grown up as she usually is, she's sometimes still such a child._

"You're such a dolt sometimes, rosebud."

Ruby didn't answer, she just got closer and started tugging at the frilly skirt, which slid off effortlessly. She then started planting small kisses all over Weiss's belly before turning her around, pulling at the zipper on the back of the onesie that revealed the immaculate back, as white as ivory.

"You weren't wearing a bra underneath this?"

Weiss blushed. "I never do. It looks ugly and it hurts a little. And since I have small breasts, a sports bra is more trouble than it's worth."

"So I take it you aren't wearing panties either?"

"No, I wear those. They're just very thin so it actually feels like wearing nothing at all."

Ruby took off the top part of the dress, but not before thoroughly feeling Weiss's small but wonderfully firm breasts. Her nipples turned hard at the touch and Weiss was making short breaths already.

"Ruby, I… Don't think I'll be… Able to take… Much more of this… We might have to… Skip the dinner… If you don't stop."

Ruby silently obliged and helped Weiss's upper body get free from the dress. She then knelt, planting a gentle kiss on the small of the ballet dancer's back before pulling the onesie down to reveal the thin panties that Weiss talked about before.

Standing up again, Ruby turned Weiss around to face her and entwined their lips in a fervent kiss, her hands gently kneading the smaller girl's ass, to which she got a response in the form of muffled moans. Then they parted.

"Ruby, you dolt… At least buy me a dinner like you promised before you use me like this."

"Sorry. I got carried away a little. But you're just  _so_  beautiful, I can't really help it."

"It's okay," Weiss said while caressing Ruby's cheek. "Just let me put something on and then we can go."

Ruby nodded and sat down on her bed while Weiss went to take out a dress of her own. She chose a light blue chiffon evening gown, with a ballerina length skirt and a corset-like midriff. When she put it on, she heard Ruby gasp.

"My word, snowflake, you look like a princess in this dress!"

"Well, I kind of am," Weiss winked at her girlfriend and took a white bolero out of her closet and put it on. She then tried to search for a jacket to go with the dress, but surprisingly couldn't find one, so she just took a simple white faux-leather jacket. She looked at Ruby then, who had put on a black flannel jacket to go with her red cocktail dress she wore for the duration of the ceremony. Unlike Weiss's, Ruby's skirt was tea length. Looking at her girlfriend's legs, Weiss realized she still needed to put on some shoes. She quickly scanned the closet to find a pair of light blue court shoes with a four inch heel.

With that, Weiss was finally ready. Ruby was already next to her and they kissed before Weiss took Ruby's arm again and they started walking.

"Snowflake," Ruby said when they left the college property, "you'll never forget this dinner, I swear."

Weiss smiled and looked Ruby lovingly in the eye. "I'm sure I won't. Did you have any plans?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. Assuming you're talking about what I'm going to do to you when we return," Ruby said in a mischievous fashion.

"Not that, you dolt! I meant for the dinner," Weiss snapped back, but there was no bile in her voice. She even chuckled a bit.

"You're no fun," Ruby said and stuck out a tongue for a moment, to which Weiss let out a feigned gasp of outrage. "But yes, snowflake, I had some plans," she then added with a grin before kissing Weiss's forehead. "Just enjoy the surprise."

_I don't really like surprises. But then again, how bad can it be? She knows my comfort zone, I hope. And it's just a dinner, for crying out loud! It's not like she's planning an adventure park date or something._

_Date. Oh my god, it's a date. Our first real date._

Suddenly, Weiss shuddered in fear.

"Weiss, is something wrong?"

"Huh? N-No, nothing's wrong."

"I'm not really buying it. You're not a very good liar, you know?"

"Well, I… I'm not lying this time, it really is nothing!"

Ruby sighed. "I'm kind of nervous for this date as well, you know."

_She reads me like an open book and I love her for it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5! Blake's introduction! Yes, I made her Japanese. I mean, she's a catgirl, for crying out loud!
> 
> On Wednesday, dinner! Some more familiar faces! Probably not without trouble, though, considering it's Ruby we're talking about here.
> 
> Thanks for comments and bookmarks!
> 
> Also, get well soon, Monty! This story would never see the light of day without your ideas!


	6. It's Dinner Time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby takes Weiss out to dinner. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say something before I let you start reading. I'm dedicating this story to the person that made it possible to exist at all. Thank you, Monty Oum, for creating RWBY and everything you did in your time at RoosterTeeth. Your departure saddened us all, but we'll never forget the mastermind behind this title.
> 
> For it is in passing that we achieve immortality, through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all.
> 
> Rest in peace, Monty.

The couple walked around the streets of the city, the girl in light blue holding the arm of the girl in red, looking at the lights and the ornaments that signified that Christmas was approaching.

Ruby looked at Weiss from time to time and almost without exception she'd see that the aristocrat was watching her, awe and love present in her eyes.  _I should be the one looking at her like that, especially after today._  Ruby would give her girlfriend a small smile every time she caught her staring and the girl would return the smile, gently squeezing the arm she was holding as well.

Finally the two girls reached their destination,  _The Blossoming Lotus,_  a not-too-luxurious-but-still-not-cheap restaurant where Ruby reserved a table for two in her earlier visit to town. There was no dress code, but Ruby saw that most guests were dressed in black tie fashion, so the two of them wouldn't look out of place. A dark-haired maître d'hôtel in a white shirt and black vest and pants greeted them as they entered. Ruby noticed a thin streak of purple in his otherwise jet black hair that was tied into a ponytail down to his mid-back.

"Good evening, ladies. Do you have a reservation?", he said with a gentle and trained voice.

Ruby spoke up, feeling proud of herself. "Good evening, sir. We do have a reservation. Under Rose."

The maître d'hôtel checked the list and found the name quickly. "Ah, yes. Table for two in a private setting. Let me summon your waiter for the evening."

Ruby nodded as the maître d'hôtel rang a bell. Not too long after that, a blond waiter in a similar outfit came out. He spoke with a confident voice, but Ruby could hear a hint of anxiety behind the confidence.  _It must be his first day or similar._

"Good evening, ladies, I'll be your waiter for the night. My name is Jaune Arc. Rolls off…"

He stopped and looked at the floor. Ruby held back a chuckle and kind of wanted him to continue, but she decided it would not look good for him.

The maître d'hôtel rolled his eyes before sending him a glare. "I thought I told you not to do that anymore."

"I'm sorry, Mr Lie! It won't happen again!"

"Anyway," the man who was identified as 'Mr Lie' spoke as if he didn't hear Jaune, "these two ladies have a reservation in our private room, if you could escort them there, please."

"At once, Mr Lie. Ladies, if you please," he gestured and started walking, the two girls starting to follow him immediately. The waiter took them out of the main dining room and opened a door that led them to a small room with just one table in it, with dimmed lights and two candles on the table. There were also bouquets of red and white flowers scattered around the room, with a large rose bouquet in the middle of the table. Ruby looked at Weiss who was blushing profusely.

"Do you find the room to your liking, Miss… Rose?" He looked down on his notepad where he apparently had written all the details he needed to know.

"Yes, Mr… Arc, was it?" When the waiter nodded, Ruby continued. "It's beautiful, just like I expected."

He watched from the side as Ruby offered Weiss to help her with the jacket, which the blushing girl accepted. Ruby put the two jackets on a stand conveniently placed next to the door.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be fetching you the menus." Ruby gave him a short nod and the waiter bowed slightly before disappearing and leaving the duo alone in the room.

Ruby was watching Weiss take in everything that happened. She then offered a hand to the aristocrat, which she gladly took, and led her to the table, helping her to sit down in a gentlemanly fashion. She then went to the other side of the table and sat herself down. Weiss was still looking around, taking the scenery in, and Ruby revelled in her untainted joy.

Finally, the white-haired girl regained the gift of speech. "Ruby, this place looks fantastic. But are you sure it's not too… Posh?"

"Snowflake, you're forgetting that I'm getting a college teacher salary. I can afford posh. Not the top end, but this is perfectly manageable. And before you say anything, no, we're not splitting the bill. I mean it."

"But Ruby…"

"No buts, except your sexy little one later when we get back home," Ruby said, winking.

Weiss had to chuckle at that. "You dolt."

Ruby smiled at her and sent her a kiss.

* * *

The dinner was done and the girls were waiting for the dessert. Weiss had two glasses of wine, the same amount as Ruby, but the girl in red looked as if she hadn't drunk anything while Weiss felt that the world was a bit more blurry than usual. Nothing she couldn't handle, though, she was sure of that.

Their waiter, Jaune, entered with two small bowls, each containing one red and one white ice cream scoop. Weiss assumed one was vanilla and the other strawberry. In the centre of the table, he positioned a plate with chocolate chip cookies. As soon as he left, Weiss noticed Ruby extending her hand, taking two cookies and eating them almost immediately.

"Jeez, rosebud, it's not like anyone will steal those cookies."

Ruby looked down, slightly ashamed. "I… It's just instinct. I  _love_  chocolate chip cookies. I can eat a whole bag of them at once."

"Relax, I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I know you didn't, but I know it isn't the best thing to do. But I can't stop doing that."

"Hey, better chocolate than drugs."

"I agree with you there."

They finished their meal in silence, Ruby eating the vast majority of the cookies  _and_  her ice cream, when the waiter returned with a bill. Ruby took a plastic card from her purse and put it on the bill without even looking at the price. Weiss wanted to say something, but Ruby just lifted her finger, so Weiss backed down. When the plastic card was returned, Ruby stood up and went over to the clothes stand and took the jackets, offering one to Weiss. They dressed, thanked the waiter for his service and left, giving a polite goodbye to the maître d'hôtel, which he gallantly returned, before stepping onto the street, Weiss holding Ruby's arm again.

"So, snowflake, how did you like the dinner?"

"I loved it. Thank you very, very much."

"No need to thank me, you deserved it."

"You really think that?"

"You made me proud back there. I had to make it up to you somehow."

"What if I screwed up?"

"That was never a chance. But, in the hypothetical scenario that something like that would happen, then I'd have to cheer you up somehow, wouldn't I?"

Weiss blushed slightly. "I guess you're right. So, are we going home now?"

"I guess we are. I'd ask you to come stargazing with me, but it's the middle of December. Why, are you so eager to get out of that dress?"

"More like eager to get  _you_  out of  _your_  dress," Weiss said without batting an eye. Ruby looked at her with widened eyes.

"Damn, if I knew alcohol makes you so brave I'd take you out for a drink earlier."

Weiss blushed. "Stop it."

"As soon as you kiss me."

That took the aristocrat by surprise. "What?"

"You heard me, snowflake. I'll stop teasing you as soon as you kiss me."

Weiss was unsure what to do. _I want her to stop teasing at least until we get back to our room, but then again, it's a public place. People might see us kiss. Then again, they already saw me holding her arm before and I really shouldn't be ashamed of it, but what if someone recognizes me and tells my parents about this? Then again, my holding her arm is also a sign of something. To hell with it._

Weiss leaned in and fervently kissed a seemingly surprised Ruby that only returned the kiss a second or so later. Weiss threw her hands around the taller girl's neck and she felt that her girlfriend held her by the waist. Ruby leaned in just a bit more, deepening the kiss.  _This feels so wrong but so right at the same time. I never want this kiss to end._

Alas, it was not meant to be. The kiss was abruptly broken when Ruby jumped back in surprise at a third voice.

"Ruby?"

Ruby was startled and started looking around her. Weiss did the same, wanting to find out who it was that broke the perfect moment she shared with her girlfriend. She noticed a girl a bit older than the two of them, with short red hair with blonde highlights and blue eyes. She was also taller than the two girls, even with both wearing heels while she didn't. Weiss also saw the tears in the corners of this girl's eyes.  _Who is this girl?_

Ruby apparently knew her. "Hi, Becky." Weiss didn't like the tone of her girlfriend's voice. She had only heard it once, before fighting Cardin on the first day.  _What did this girl do to make Ruby use that voice?_

"I… I guess I shouldn't be surprised," the girl said, looking at the ground in apparent shame and sadness.

"With what? Me getting over you after  _you_  dumped me?"

 _Oh. Is this the girlfriend that broke up with her about three weeks ago?_  It certainly seemed so, as Weiss didn't really believe someone would be that hostile with someone that broke up with them years ago. The girl seemed down at Ruby's words, too, which only added to the thought Weiss was having.

"I…" Her voice seemed weak, like she was really upset. "No. Not at getting over me. Just… You confirmed my suspicions that you can get better girls than me."

Ruby seemed surprised at this declaration. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, she's much richer than I am, you can see that easily. She's also very pretty, prettier than me, I must admit."

"She's still here, you know. Don't talk like she isn't."

Weiss tried to intervene. "Ruby…"

"Not now, Weiss."

"Ruby, calm down."

"I can't, Weiss! She dumped me because she claimed our long distance thing isn't working out! And not even a month later, she's back here and somehow she's the victim of our breakup!"

The girl, Becky, spoke up again. "Ruby, please, just listen to me."

"What do you have to say I haven't heard yet?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"You said that then, too."

"Ruby, please. I know I hurt you and I really felt bad about it. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. I'm glad you bounced back, but that doesn't change the fact that in the time I… Was away from you, I had time to think about us. And I realized that breaking up with you was a mistake. I realized I still love you. I know it makes no difference now, but for the last week or so I've been trying to find you, but not on the college grounds as I didn't want to come off as a stalker of some sort. As for why I'm living here, I dropped out."

"You dropped out? Why?" Ruby looked at her ex-girlfriend with concern.

"Because I really thought we could start things anew. I guess I'm a kind of a foolish girl that thinks everything will turn out exactly how I want it in the end. I should probably start remembering that fairytales are not real world. I had no business expecting you to come back to me, yet I still held hope. I'm sorry I hurt you and I know I can't repair the damage I've done. I'm glad you moved on and I hope she makes you happier than I could. But, can we be at least friends again? Please. I'd really appreciate it."

Ruby looked at her ex with a blank expression. Weiss stepped in and held Ruby's hand. "Ruby, I think she's being honest."

Ruby looked at Weiss with a similar expression she used on Becky. Weiss spoke again with a warm smile. "Ruby, give her a chance. For me."

Ruby stood there for another moment and then nodded. "I'm doing this because of my girlfriend, Becky. I can try to be friends with you again. But the first time I start suspecting you trying to take me away from Weiss, I'm blanking you until one of us dies."

Becky's face lit up. "Thank you, Ruby! Thank you so much for this chance!"

"Thank Weiss, not me. I had no intention of letting you back into my life. That doesn't mean I'm not still angry with you, though."

Becky was unsure of what to do. Weiss gave her an asserting look. "Yes, of course! Thank you, Weiss! I'm indebted to you! I don't know how to repay you, but I will somehow. I promise!"

"Umm… Don't mention it," Weiss said with a faint blush.

"Yeah, great, great. Now that the pleasantries are through, we must bid you farewell, Becky. We need to get back to the dorms because we have a rough day ahead of us tomorrow. See you!"

Ruby was acting completely unlike her, Weiss noted. Becky waved the pair goodbye enthusiastically and Weiss returned the wave. Ruby, on the other hand, could barely wait that was over with and nearly stormed away. Weiss caught up to her.

"Ruby…"

"Not now, Weiss. Let's just go home."

Ruby held her arm out again and Weiss took it without thinking, wanting to calm the girl down.

"I know I said it was cold for stargazing, but would you like to anyway? I need some romantic activity to forget that I just let someone who hurt me back into my life."

"Anything for you, Ruby. Anything so you stop acting like that."

Ruby said nothing for the remainder of the journey to the college grounds. Stepping inside the grounds, the pair went to the part of the lawn that wasn't occupied by the stage from before, Ruby sitting down under a birch tree and Weiss sitting just in front of her so Ruby could embrace her from behind. They were looking at the stars for a while when Weiss noticed Ruby was shaking. At first she thought Ruby was cold, but then she heard her sob. Weiss clutched her hands around the ones around her neck.

"Ruby…"

"She broke our first official kiss, Weiss! She ruined our first official date!"

"No, she didn't. I still had a great time at the restaurant and I enjoyed the time I got to spend with you. I'd count that as a successful date."

"I wanted it to be perfect."

"And it was, Ruby. Please, stop making yourself feel bad about Becky. She was just insecure and thought she was acting the right way."

"And why exactly would she be insecure? I wasn't her first, she told me that much."

"Maybe she had lots on her mind with her education, maybe her parents weren't too keen on you two together. There are a lot of things that might have gone through her head. Maybe she thought the best way to act on her thoughts was exactly what she did."

"How do you know?"

"I went through a similar phase this summer."

"I'm sorry, Weiss, I shouldn't…"

"Shut up and listen to me now," Weiss said in a no-nonsense voice, "I don't want you moping over her. I want the confident and charismatic Ruby back. I want back Ruby that will flirt with me in the most profane way, making me as uncomfortable as possible. I want back Ruby that almost made me skip dinner while getting me out of my ballet dress earlier. I want back Ruby," she turned around slightly so she could whisper in her ear, "that told me about two hours ago that the only but she'll be happy to get is my sexy little one. That's the Ruby I love. I want that Ruby back. And I want her back  _now_ ," she finished with an emphasis and kissed Ruby's cheek awkwardly from her position and stood up, holding out her hand. "Now where would I go about finding that girl?", she said to Ruby with a wink.

Ruby then stood up herself and kissed Weiss passionately on the lips before taking her hand and starting to walk towards the dorm. The dark-haired girl spoke just four words.

"I love you, snowflake."

Weiss smiled. "I love you too, rosebud."

* * *

Ruby spent the Exterior Design class thinking about things that didn't concern the class. If someone would take a look at her, she would appear to absentmindedly gaze out the window, bewitched by watching the first snow fall. But she had a lot on her mind at that moment. She wanted to concentrate and she shook herself out of her thoughts a couple times, but she always found herself lost in thoughts again, so she stopped trying.

_I didn't need this to happen. I can't stand the conflict. On one hand, she seemed sincere enough to make me believe her. On the other, I just wanted to obliterate her for what she did to me. Can I go back to being friends with her?_

_You have to try. For Weiss's sake._

_But I don't want to hurt Weiss if it turns out I still have feelings for Becky._

_Do you?_

_I don't know!_

A tear trickled down Ruby's cheek and she quickly wiped it away. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Concentrating on the lesson was in vain, as she noted that there was barely any time left on the clock.

She started thinking about the morning and how she awoke being a smaller spoon for the first time. She could still feel the warm touch of Weiss's hand over her abdomen, her gentle breath on the nape of Ruby's neck, and just how freaking  _amazing_  her body felt against Ruby's back. She didn't want to change that feeling for the world, but when Weiss awoke, Ruby was crying instead of smiling. When the white-haired girl wanted to know what was wrong, Ruby lied. She said that she had a bad dream.  _I lied to her and I felt so bad about it. But I couldn't tell her that our meeting with Becky was still haunting me. She doesn't need to get upset over it._

The bell finally rang and Ruby wanted go outside, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She was immediately on guard, jumping away from the touch and positioning herself in a combat stance.

"Woah, Ruby, slow down! It's just me!"

Ruby then noticed just who it was that stopped her. A girl, about two inches taller than Ruby, with glasses over her piercing green eyes. Her hair was platinum blonde and tied into a ponytail that went just slightly below her shoulders.

"Gia Goodwitch. You know better than to sneak up on me like that."

Gia was Ruby's best friend on the campus, excluding Weiss, of course. The two of them were pretty close and Ruby knew that Gia could be trusted. She was also a huge fan of  _Bleeding Sun,_  the band Ruby's sister was a frontwoman of, so that helped. Especially once Ruby told her that her sister was in it.

"I know, but you were almost running and I had to get your attention somehow since you wouldn't answer when I was calling your name."

"Sorry, I'm kind of stressed right now," Ruby said while looking at the floor.

"I could see that from a mile away. Want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Not here. Let's go somewhere we won't be interrupted or overheard, shall we?"

Gia nodded and followed Ruby to the bar in the college's basement. While it was usually packed, it was also a place where Ruby knew nobody would listen to their conversations for that same fact. People tend not to overhear what you're talking about if they're talking as well. Not like Ruby intended to yell anyway.

The two girls took a table close to the window. The main reason was that the table was small enough so they wouldn't even need to speak loudly to hear each other. The barista came to them quickly and took their order. He returned not two minutes later with the coffee. Gia took a sip of the liquid, not adding a single grain of sugar to it while Ruby listened to her sweet tooth, as usual, and poured three sugars in it.

"So, now that we are here, can you tell me what's bothering you, Ruby?"

Ruby sighed while stirring her coffee, melting the sugar in the process. "Well, I don't really know. it shouldn't even be an issue, but somehow it is."

Gia took another sip. "I'm listening."

Ruby took a deep breath before continuing. "You already know about my latest breakup. You also know about Weiss and me." Gia nodded at both statements. "Yesterday, I took Weiss out for a dinner after her performance. It was all going perfectly well. We even kissed in public for the first time. Then Becky showed up and interrupted us."

Gia looked at Ruby with a judgingly raised eyebrow. "You mean the girl that was going to college somewhere in the south? The girl that dumped you because you were so far away from each other?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes. That same girl."

"What was she doing here?"

"I'm getting to that. So, she interrupts our kiss and I was ready to kill anyone that dared to do that. Then I see her face and she looked like she was crying. Then she says she dropped out of college and wanted to have another chance with me." Ruby took a large sip of her coffee.

"And what did you say?"

"What do you think I said?", Ruby said, slightly annoyed at the question, putting the cup down. "I was out with my new girlfriend. Naturally I told her no. I even wanted to say I don't want to see her ever again, but Weiss begged me to give Becky another chance at being friends. So I caved in and said I'd try to be friends with her again."

"Well, then, what's upsetting you?"

"That's exactly the problem. It shouldn't even be an issue, but I'm afraid I might still have feelings for her."

Gia finished her coffee and set the cup on the small plate that came with it. "Whether you have feelings for your ex or not is easy to guess. Let me ask you two questions and answer truthfully."

Ruby took another large sip. "Shoot."

"Question number one: How do you feel when you're around Weiss?"

"She makes me feel alive. I'm happier than ever around her," Ruby replied, barely missing a beat.

"Question number two: Did you feel the same when you were with Becky?"

Ruby looked at the floor for a moment.  _This question shouldn't be that hard to answer, god damn it. This shouldn't even be a question._

Finally, Ruby spoke. "No. I was happy, but not in the same way."

"See? No need to worry then." Gia spread her arms, inviting Ruby into a hug. The dark-haired girl accepted the embrace, getting smothered by her friend's rather ample chest. But she wasn't sure she was telling Gia the whole truth.  _Was I just saying that because I want to believe it?_

* * *

Weiss was in a similar train of thought when she went to her Creative Writing class. She found herself thinking about the day before and Ruby and Becky.  _Did I do the right thing, letting that girl back into Ruby's life? She openly admitted to still having feelings for Ruby. Ruby herself didn't look too sure about her feelings either. She seemed genuinely upset when we were stargazing. She did calm down and we did spend a very enjoyable night together, but when I woke up, she was crying. I'm not buying into her explanation of a bad dream. I_ know _it's connected to Becky somehow. But if she won't tell me, I won't push. But I still have a very bad feeling about this. Did I make a mistake?_

Weiss shook her thoughts away as the teacher opened the classroom and the students hurried in. When everyone was seated down, the teacher went to the middle of the room and started talking with his usual calm voice.

"Good morning, students! Since this is our last class before Christmas break, I'm going to keep it short. I will be giving you an assignment that you will have a full month to write. I'm giving you that much time because it will be a very difficult assignment. I can already tell you that the topic of the assignment will be one of the strongest emotions known to mankind."

He then started to ramble on about themes and how to use them effectively, something Weiss read about a month before already and felt couldn't improve much on, but she listened intently anyway.  _You never know when he'll say something you somehow forgot or didn't pay attention to._

She took notes, but the teacher kept it very short, like he promised, as he was only talking for about half an hour.

"Now, I promised to be short, so this is the end of the lecture. As for the assignment. You will be writing a four to ten pages long composition. I want you to incorporate what you have learned about themes today. As for the prompt: there isn't one. The only thing to keep in mind is that you write about one of the strongest human emotions. The emotion I want you to write about is of course love. It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic love, but it has to be love. This assignment will also be responsible for a part of your final grade. Class dismissed. Happy holidays!"

Weiss finished writing down the instructions and smiled faintly as she put her notebook in her bag. She already knew what she was going to write about.  _Who knows, maybe this assignment will make me realize what is wrong with Ruby and maybe she'll be more open about the situation._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> White Rose encountered a bump in their relationship. Can they pull through? Find out in next chapter.
> 
> Thanks for the support! Comments are welcome, as usual.


	7. Through Thick and Thin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby wants to have a word with Weiss before the sparring matches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: Like chapter 4, this one contains a scene of religion being used in a wrong way. It's marked with bolded flashback. It's more disturbing and graphic than the scene in chapter 4, so don't read if you aren't sure you'll be able to. Just like chapter 4, I don't want no comments pertaining to mocking or sanctifying religion. Those comments will be deleted. Thank you.

Ruby felt guilty for avoiding Weiss that day. She knew that she'll have to talk to her sooner rather than later. After all, it would be weird if she would avoid talking to a person who was not only her girlfriend, but who also shared a dorm room with her. They'd talk, there was no doubt about it.

The time for the taekwondo lesson was approaching quickly and Ruby was full of energy, if not confidence, from the third coffee she had with Gia that day. The two girls were walking towards the gym. Gia stopped before getting too close to it, though.

"Ruby, this is as far as I'll go."

"O-Okay. Why exactly?"

"Just in case Weiss is already there waiting. I wouldn't want to get you into trouble."

"What? She knows about you."

"I know. It's just… You're a little insecure right now. If I could notice it, she most definitely did as well. Seeing you with someone else might make her more suspicious. And I don't doubt she's insecure as well. Remember, she woke up to you crying."

"Sound logic. Well, as you wish. Thank you for keeping me company."

"You're welcome. Though don't forget what I told you. You two need to talk, and soon."

"We will. Have fun!"

The girls parted after a quick hug. After Gia was gone, Ruby took a deep breath before continuing towards the gym. As Gia suspected, Weiss was already there, as were some other students. Ruby unlocked the door and let the early birds in. She put a hand on Weiss's shoulder before she went in, though. Weiss looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Listen, Weiss. Sorry for this morning. Sorry for not spending time with you today. You have every right to be angry with me."

"I'm not, Ruby. I couldn't be angry with you if I tried. But I do want to talk to you."

"We'll talk. After the lesson. I promise. Okay?"

Weiss nodded and Ruby smiled. The two of them shared a quick kiss and went inside the gym.

The early students engaged in a playful banter, as they did every time while they waited for the people who were punctual. Velvet was in an especially good mood that day, Ruby noticed, the foreign girl joking with everyone and looking more relaxed than ever. But Ruby's gaze was mostly fixed on her girlfriend, who kept some sort of sadness hidden under the façade of a perfectly untroubled girl. Seeing that hidden sadness made Ruby feel like crap, even more so as she knew she was the reason for it.

Finally the other students arrived and Ruby could focus on teaching instead of everything else. She hoped the practice would help Weiss take her mind off her for a moment as well. Ruby blew the whistle so that everyone looked at her, patiently awaiting orders.

"Okay, class! Today's lesson is the second to last before the sparring with the Preston-Lowell College taekwondo club! We'll keep the practices shorter than usual, so you can get some more rest. Of course, not all of you will be sparring in the festival. I was told to select twelve of you to face off with twelve of them. After your twelve matches will be completed, I will take on their teacher. I will select the twelve representatives based on today's and Thursday's practices. Do not be sad if you aren't chosen, you'll have another chance next year. I'm also sure this won't be the only public sparring our club will participate in, so you'll all have multiple chances to prove yourself. Now, without further ado, let's start stretching and then we'll draw pairs that will be matched against each other. Like the whole last month, the fights will be tournament style. Let's get started!"

After the stretching was done, the pairs were drawn. Ruby watched every single pair and already started making mental notes as to who will make the list and who won't.  _Velvet is a lock. She looks like she's enjoying these lessons even more than I do. And she is a good fighter. In just a few months she became an opponent that could land multiple hits on me. Weiss is another lock. She's the second most hardworking, after Velvet. She's also just a little bit below her skill level, though not much. I'm not expecting much from these fights, though, maybe a victory or two. Their club is definitely older and more experienced than ours._

As she watched Weiss spar with Yatsuhashi, the giant of the club, Ruby unwillingly thought of what she was going to say to her later. But then something clicked inside of her, her heart started beating faster as she watched the white-haired aristocrat move with grace, even gaining an upper hand, or rather foot, on the giant boy. She suddenly stopped watching Yatsuhashi and fixed her gaze on Weiss, not moving even an inch away from her.  _I do love her. And I don't need to be afraid of Becky._  The smidge of feelings she still might have held for her ex-girlfriend evaporated in that instant as she saw Weiss somehow muster something incredible. Namely, she connected her foot with the head of at least a foot and a half taller boy. Sparring time ran out and Ruby noticed that the headshot Weiss managed to pull off was just enough to push her for a win in the spar. At that point, Ruby was the proudest girlfriend on the planet and Yatsuhashi looked dazed, obviously not knowing where that foot came from.

Silently judging the other combatants by their moves and positioning, Ruby continued to make mental notes. When every pair finished sparring, she decided to call it a day. They shared a group hug as they always did and then just Weiss and Ruby remained, as they always did.

Ruby relaxed and smiled at Weiss. "Okay, snowflake. Ready to go home?"

Weiss nodded and Ruby noticed she was smiling too.  _That's good._

They held hands as they walked towards the dorm, the snow gently falling on their hair and clothes, making the whole thing look like a winter wonderland. Ruby felt the need to do something and she suddenly stopped. Weiss, not expecting that, almost fell as she tried to go forward but was yanked back by the immobile Ruby's hand. They faced each other.

"What is it, Ruby?"

The addressee looked the speaker in the eye. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"For making me realize something."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll tell you when we get inside. Right now, this will have to do." With those words, Ruby let go of Weiss's hand and threw her arms around her midsection, pulling her closer while still not breaking the eye contact. She then closed the distance between the two mouths and the two girls joined their lips together in a kiss unlike any kiss they shared before. It spoke much more than any word could: Ruby was telling Weiss that she will love her forever and Weiss was telling the same thing back, but that still wasn't everything the kiss said. It spoke of devotion you'll be hard pressed to find in someone that young.

* * *

 

Weiss ran out of breath and pulled back, tears welling in her eyes.

"R-Rosebud… That was  _amazing_ ," she uttered, catching her breath.

Ruby just held the girl close, not saying anything. After a long embrace, they finally resumed their path. Weiss noticed that for the first time since the summer, she didn't care if someone saw her kissing another girl. She knew she was doing precisely the thing she wanted to and nobody, not even her own parents, could make her think otherwise.

The duo entered the room and pretty much dropped on one bed, Weiss not even noticing if it was hers or Ruby's. Not that it mattered at all, as they had something very important to talk about.

"So, can we talk now?", Weiss asked with a hopeful expression.

"Yes. I swear I'll be perfectly honest with you."

"As I plan to be with you. So, please, tell me what was wrong this morning."

Weiss noticed Ruby looked over her for a moment. "I… Was afraid I still have feelings for Becky."

 _Just as I thought._  "Go on."

"I know I should have told you everything, but I didn't want to ruin your day. I spent most of my classes worrying about it. Luckily Gia was there to talk. So we talked. She comforted me and pretty much made me believe that I only have feelings for you. Then, when I was watching you fight Yatsu, I realized Gia was right all along. I realized you are my world. I watched you move with grace I couldn't expect from someone barely starting the lessons. What really made all click for me, though, was that I tried to imagine Becky in your position, fighting that giant, and I couldn't even recall her face." Ruby looked down, trying to stop the tears from falling and failing at it.

"I am sorry for the p-pain I caused you, b-but I…" Ruby stopped talking again to stop the sobs, barely managing. "I  _love_ you, Weiss. I mean it and I never want to be separated from you like this again. I want you to be happy because you deserve to be happy more than anyone else I know."

Then Ruby did another thing Weiss never saw her do. She snuggled into Weiss's chest and started crying loudly. Weiss caressed her girlfriend's hair until she calmed down, but she was fighting back the tears as well. She managed, but didn't believe she could keep them at bay for her part of the confession. When Ruby's tears finally subsided, Weiss started talking.

"I have a confession too, Ruby."

Ruby looked at her, fear in her eyes obvious.  _Oh god no._  "Don't be scared, I'm not leaving you, you dolt! I-I just wanted to say…"  _How to tell this in the way it will hurt the least?_  "I-I had second thoughts too, you know."

"About what?"

"About Becky. I spent the whole day worrying about the same thing as you, especially after the assignment our writing teacher made us do over the Christmas break. I was so afraid I made a mistake when I made you give her a second chance. I never want to lose you, Ruby. My world would crumble without you, and however cliché it sounds, you know perfectly well that it's the truth. You were the one that made me stop trying to repress myself, you were the one comforting me when you hadn't even known me yet. You saved me from Cardin just because you felt I was in distress. Somehow I am thankful to him for being such a jerk. I might have never gotten to know you like I do if it wasn't for him. That moment when you made him release me and I looked at you… I didn't need more. In that moment I just knew you are a special kind of person. I wanted to hide it, but couldn't. You noticed that and pretty much made me come to terms with what I am. You are a hurricane that barged into my life and turned it upside down and I couldn't be more thankful for that, Ruby. I love you with all my heart and if I ever stop loving you that much, I was never worthy of you in the first place."

After managing to say everything she wanted without crying, Weiss felt proud of herself and her mental strength. But when she noticed Ruby's teared-up face, she couldn't hold back anymore and the two girls shared a crying kiss for quite a while.

"Will you look at us, acting all tough and stuff and then we get so queasy and emotional," Ruby managed to say after the two girls parted lips and Weiss could only chuckle at that.

"Oh, Ruby," was all she was able to say.

"I don't want to spoon today," Ruby then said, seemingly out of the blue.

"W-What? Why?"

"I want to wake up and the first thing I see is your face. I want us to fall asleep like we are now, looking each other in the eye. So I can kiss you before I fall asleep and when I wake up."

Weiss nodded and held her girlfriend tight.  _If anyone dares to try and take you away from me, I'll kill them. And I'm not even joking._

"One thing, though."

"Yes, snowflake?"

"Next time something like this happens… Let's talk sooner, please."

"I promise." Ruby nuzzled Weiss's neck. After a moment, she seemed to recall something.

"Snowflake?"

"Yes?"

"What was the assignment, by the way?"

"I have to write a story about love."

"That was all he gave you?"

"Yes. That was all." With a small kiss, the pair fell asleep there and then, not even bothering to take a shower or change into sleeping clothes.

* * *

 

Ruby's alarm clock sounded and woke her with a start. She tried to shut the thing off before Weiss could wake up, but that proved impossible as Weiss clung on her like a weight and Ruby's flailing for the stupid thing woke her up, of course.

Weiss let go of Ruby's waist and rose, stretching her arms high above her head while letting out a small yawn.

"You're such a cutie, Weiss."

Weiss let her arms fall down and she blushed slightly. She then fell back down on top of Ruby, the taller girl embracing her. They shared a quick kiss.

"Come on, sleepyhead," Weiss said. "It was your alarm clock that awoke us and I'm the one that woke up first."

Ruby exhaled. "I just want to cuddle for a bit."

"Oh, we can do that. Just not for too long. It's Thursday. We have classes, remember?"

_It's Thursday. Oh, crap. I'll have to choose the combatants for tomorrow._

"Yeah, sure, not too long." Ruby gave Weiss a kiss on the forehead while receiving one on her neck. Her hands caressed Weiss's back as she continued kissing Ruby's neck. Instinctively, Ruby's hand went a little too far down and Weiss jumped up.

"Ruby, we don't have time for that."

"Oh, come on! Can't I get a feel of my girlfriend?", she said with a pout. Weiss chuckled.

"Dolt." Then she rose from the bed and Ruby let out a whimper, wanting to sound offended but coming off as a baby instead. Weiss knelt by the bed.

"Oh, come on, you big baby. Here, let me give you a kiss to help you get out of bed." She pressed her lips on Ruby's and not even a fraction of a second later Ruby returned the kiss passionately, adding a hand in Weiss's hair for good measure.  _And to keep her closer for a while more._

After the duo got ready, they started going towards school, holding hands. Weiss didn't have classes for another hour or so, but she'd always accompany Ruby there. "At the least it gives me a chance to try and practice creative writing while waiting for my class to start," she'd say to Ruby when she asked her why.

They sat down in front of the classroom and held hands while Weiss put her head on Ruby's shoulder. Soon after that Gia showed up, her trademark grin pasted over her face.

"Hey, Weiss, Ruby! How's it hanging?"

Ruby spoke. "You see. We made up."

"Just like I knew you would. My word, you two are so  _cute_  together! Can I take a picture of you?", she said, taking a camera out of her bag.

Weiss, who was half asleep this whole time, finally got to her senses. "What? Oh, hi, Gia. Didn't see you there."

"Hey, Weiss. You okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Weiss said with a yawn. "I'm just a bit sleepy because  _someone's_  alarm clock woke  _me_  up instead of the one it was supposed to," Weiss looked with a feigned angry eye towards Ruby, who scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Haha, sorry about that. Won't happen again."

Gia laughed at the couple's antics. "So, like I was saying, you two are super cute together. Mind if I take a photo of you two?"

Weiss looked at Ruby, who had a gleam of mischief in her eyes. "Sure, take it," Ruby then said and took Weiss's head in her hands and pressed her lips on hers before anyone could react.

"Mhh…" was all Weiss managed to say before the kiss made her turn her attempt at complaining into a gentle moan. Ruby then heard a shutter click and let go, grinning from ear to ear.

"You're such a dolt sometimes, Ruby Rose," Weiss said with flushed cheeks.

"Thank you," Ruby replied mischievously and Weiss couldn't help but hug her.

"That was perfect! Look at you!" Gia showed them the photo she just took. Ruby looked at it and looked pretty happy with it.

"Hey, could you print that out? I want to make it like a poster in our room, on the wall overlooking our beds so we can always see how cute we are."

"Sure, I'll have it for you tomorrow."

The teacher then came and Weiss had to leave. Before that, however, Ruby held the smaller girl in her embrace, her hand running down the long white hair, that day tied into an off-side ponytail.

"Remember, our last practice is today."

"I know. I would never forget."

The lectures felt all the same to Ruby. Everyone was simply yapping about Christmas and how they'd give them a whole lot of assignments to do over the course of the holidays, yadda yadda. She never felt so bored in her life. Ruby could barely wait for the bell to ring. Slowly, the lectures were done and all that remained was to get ready for the last practice with her club. Walking towards the gym, she saw a couple of her students that joined her after seeing her and before long it looked like Ruby was a general with her trusted soldiers at her heel. She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Cardin in the distance and before she could send him a murderous look, he turned around and disappeared. Cardin's apparent fear of her made Ruby laugh like a maniac.

The practice went through the usual way and the final duels came to a close. Ruby wrote the names of the selected dozen in her notepad.

"Okay, class, it's time to reveal the twelve combatants that will represent Fairbanks-Smith College tomorrow! The lucky twelve are Velvet, Yatsuhashi, Ronnie, Jean, Bridget, Joe, Mark, Eve, Chris, Brenda, Ian and Weiss."

"Like nobody expected that one," a silent voice came from the back, just loud enough for Ruby to hear.

"What was that?" She didn't want to sound angry.

"I said, 'like nobody expected that one', Ruby." Everyone's heads turned towards the source of those words. The source was revealed to be a junior with short dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Thomas. What are you talking about?"

"Please.  _Everyone_  knew you'll pick Weiss as one of the twelve."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"Oh, come on, Ruby. We all know you two are together."

"So you're saying I only picked her because she's my girlfriend and that otherwise she's a shitty fighter?" The rage was building up in Ruby faster than she could control it.

"That's what I am saying, yes."

"Mind putting your feet where your mouth is?"

"You're challenging me?"

Weiss stepped towards Ruby. "Ruby, you can pick him instead of me."

"No! I stand by my choice.  _Unless_  Thomas here can prove to me that he's a better fighter than you, you'll be fighting tomorrow." She flew a glare towards the boy in question. "I'm not challenging you.  _You_ are the challenger here, Thomas. Do you accept a fight between you and Weiss, right now? The winner gets to fight tomorrow. If you win, I'll admit my mistake and that I have overlooked your abilities. If Weiss wins, you apologize to me and  _especially_  Weiss, not to mention the whole club for this insolence. If you decline, you aren't welcome here anymore. Do. You. Accept?"

There was fire in Ruby's eyes.  _You can insult me, but not my girlfriend._

Weiss tried to reason with her. "Ruby, don't do this."

"Weiss, he won't insult you! He can insult me, but not you. I refuse to let him make conclusions about you because we're together. I try extremely hard to be as objective as I can. Hell, after seeing you handle Yatsuhashi on Monday, I thought it was obvious that you were an amazing fighter." Weiss took a step back, obviously understanding that Ruby won't be calmed that day. She turned towards Thomas again. "I'm still waiting for your answer."

Thomas was shuffling in place, visibly intimidated by Ruby's demeanour. "Fine, I accept. I like this class and I really don't want to go away from here."

"That's very good to hear. Well, then, combatants, get ready!"

* * *

 

The fire in Ruby's eyes was intimidating even for Weiss, and it wasn't even directed at her. The aristocrat knew Thomas had screwed up with his words. The two combatants got ready and put on their headgear and torso protection. They met in the centre of the mat while Ruby was waiting for them there.

"Now I want you to remember, this is still a friendly spar. If any of you tries a cheapshot, they will be disqualified and I will consider throwing them out of the club."

The combatants nodded and bowed to each other as Ruby gave them a signal to start. Weiss went straight on the defensive, easily blocking the incoming shots. She knew she didn't have much time, though, and that she will need to attack soon.

She noticed a small opening in Thomas's defences and kicked him in the side of his lower abdomen. Not ten seconds later, she scored another point. There was adrenaline pumping through her veins and soon enough she felt like she's barely even moving. From time to time she felt her arm block a kick from her opponent or her leg connecting with his arm or torso. Before she knew, though, Ruby called that time was up.

"Velvet, would you mind telling us the points and the winner of this fight, please?"

Velvet nodded, her previous joy all but gone from her face.  _For all her expertise in fighting, she's still a very shy girl._

"Thomas has two points," Velvet started with a voice that failed terribly at not shaking, "And Weiss has seventeen. The winner of the fight is Weiss."

Weiss could barely believe her ears.  _Seventeen? How? I don't even remember hitting him that often._  She looked at Ruby and noticed a smile on her face.

"Well then, I guess  _someone_  owes an apology to all of us," she said, looking at the defeated boy who was looking at the floor, suddenly finding the green mat way more interesting than anything else in the room.

He then took a deep breath before speaking up. "I apologize to the club whose integrity I questioned." His gaze rose to meet Ruby's. "I apologize to my teacher, Ruby, whose objectivity I doubted. And lastly," his eyes shifted to Weiss, "I apologize to Weiss for thinking she is a bad fighter. It was obvious that the bad fighter in this fight was me. I hope all of you have it in you to accept my apology."

"Class! Do you accept Thomas's apology?"

"We do!", the students cheered in unison.

"Weiss, do you accept the apology?"

"Yes, I do," Weiss added quickly. Ruby smiled wider.

"Then I accept your apology too. If anybody else thinks he deserves the spot on the twelve fighters for tomorrow, you are free to challenge whoever you think you can beat in a fair fight."

Ruby waited for a moment and when nobody said anything, she dismissed the class.

"Don't forget. Tomorrow at eight in the evening, right here! The combatants should be here at least an hour earlier, though."

The class dissipated and Weiss and Ruby were alone.

"Ruby, thank you for standing up for me, but you didn't have to do this."

"No, Weiss, you're wrong here. I most certainly had to," Ruby spoke with flat voice. "I might have gone too far and let it hit too close, but I  _had_  to do it. I won't allow  _anyone_  to insult you in front of me."

Weiss noticed there was no arguing with her girlfriend that day, so she offered her a hand. Ruby took it instantly and they walked to their room, where they fell asleep, embraced as always.

* * *

 

Ruby was nervous. She could hide it all she wanted and refused to admit it, but she was nervous. The combatants were in a circle around her as she gave them a final speech in their changing room.

"I chose the twelve of you because I believe in you. I would be lying if I said I expect a lot from this. Their club is older and more experienced. I expect you to fight and do your best. They won't win by a landslide, more likely it will be very close. I won't be disappointed if you lose, as long as you give your absolute best. Now get ready to kick some ass!"

The club cheered.

"Who are we?"

"Fairbanks-Smith Taekwondo Club!", everyone yelled.

"And what will we do?"

"We'll kick their asses in!"

"And why?"

"To show them who's boss on our turf!"

"Exactly! Now let's go out there, it's getting started!"

With a final cheer, the chosen combatants ran out on stage. Ruby watched them.  _Such enthusiasm. We may not win all battles, but we will show heart. And that's all I want from them right now._

She slowly went after them, thinking and hoping the difference in knowledge won't be too big. Her worry turned to joy at the sight of the first match. It was Yatsuhashi versus someone she forgot the name of and the gentle giant held his ground wonderfully, only losing with seven points to six. The remaining fights were mostly close: Bridget even won with five to two, as did Velvet, the score was nine to seven. The others lost their duel, but none by more than three or four points.

There were only two duels left. Weiss versus a girl named Joanna and Ruby herself versus their teacher, a man in his late forties that went by the name Kim. He had a Korean look to him and Ruby knew that's where taekwondo was invented. She held extreme respect for the man and she never even talked to him before. He emanated knowledge of techniques Ruby couldn't hope to know after only twelve years. While twelve years might sound a lot of time, Ruby knew that she held no chance against a person that was training for closer to forty years.  _I'll give him my absolute best. But first, let's see how Weiss handles herself._

* * *

 

Weiss stepped on the mat and went to the middle where her opponent, a girl two inches taller than her, was already waiting. Weiss noticed the girl had long black hair and electric blue eyes and had just a little extra weight, enough to give her a little more punch, but not enough to slow her down. Something about the girl seemed oddly and hauntingly familiar to the white-haired girl. The two girls bowed and started the fight.

Weiss immediately had to block a kick aimed quite high and could mean a headshot if her reflexes weren't stellar. She then went into an attack of her own, seeing just a little space on the left side of her opponent. She realized it was a trap as she felt a kick to her midsection.  _1-0. Calm down, you can still get this._

The opponent charged at Weiss, looking at her with fierce eyes, and in that moment, Weiss remembered where she saw those eyes before.

**Flashback**

_A boy, no more than fourteen, stood in the room with his back bared. Everybody else had to be witness to what was about to transpire. The boy's hands were tied to the poles to the either side of him and he was obviously in distress. A woman in her late fifties was looking at the other people in the room, piercing them with her electric blue eyes._

" _No, Mother Superior, please! Don't do it! I'll be a good boy!"_

" _You didn't let Satan leave your body."_

" _I promise I'll pray more fervently, please, I really will, just don't do this!"_

" _My boy," Mother Superior said with a tired voice. "You should be praying fervently already."_

_Weiss wanted to cry. She knew what was about to happen. When she wasn't praying fervently enough, she was punished too. But not like this. What she had to endure couldn't hold a candle to this. The further on the camp went, the more severe the punishments were. Weiss realized that early on and prayed through all her spare time, even though she didn't believe in any of the words she said. But she repeated them fervently and over and over again, and that seemed to be enough for the nuns of the convent._

" _I think twelve should be enough, since it is your first time not praying strongly enough," the tired voice said again as she lifted her hand. Weiss saw what the woman was clutching in her arms, but she refused to believe it was real. It_ had _to be fake, just a dream._ Nobody _would be this cruel, surely. "One for each of the Apostles and twelve is also the number of Rosaries you will pray tonight before bed, unless you wish to be punished again tomorrow."_

_Mother Superior started chanting. "Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis."_

_A loud bang was heard as the riding crop hit the boy's back. A scream of agony echoed through the halls of the convent._

" _Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis."_

_The boy received eleven more lashes and was shaking like a branch in the wind when the nun was finished._

" _Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem."_

_The nun's chant ended there and Weiss couldn't watch anymore. She saw gashes over the boy's back that were leaking blood, the edges of his wounds starting to become blue and black and yellow, she heard his cries of agony, she saw him shaking and barely standing, and for what? For daring to pray a little less fervently to a god he no longer believed in. For daring to think of boys in a manner the society deemed appropriate only for girls._

_Weiss was crying there, kneeling, hopeless and scared, listening to the boy's deafening screams becoming quieter and shorter with every repeat before they stopped completely._

_Weiss dared to look up and saw the limp boy's body, his back bloody as one of the nuns untied him from the poles and put him on a stretcher with his belly down before driving him out of the room. Mother Superior looked at the young people in the room, her electric blue eyes scanning each and every one of them._

" _Pray fervently, kids, or else Satan won't leave your bodies and I'll have to exorcise him myself."_

* * *

 

Ruby was watching her girlfriend fight Joanna and she knew something was wrong. Weiss seemed disoriented somehow, somewhat dazed, as if receiving a powerful hit to the head. But Ruby was sure that the only hit she suffered so far was to her midsection.  _Weiss, what is wrong? Why didn't you say anything?_ But then her fear was confirmed: Weiss fell down on her hands and knees without being hit and before anyone could react, the entirety of her stomach's contents was plastered on the mat. Ruby ran towards her, yelling and crying, only seeing the weak girl struggling not to fall in her own vomit.

"Weiss! Somebody call an ambulance!"

She managed to get to Weiss and she quickly grabbed her and pulled away from the mess she created. She then put Weiss's head in her lap in such a way that it looked at the mat, her body also turned to the side, to stop her from choking on her own vomit if she needed to do it again.

"Weiss, oh my god, Weiss, what happened to you?"

Weiss struggled to look Ruby in the eye and then she struggled to utter a single sentence. Ruby was crying and seeing Weiss's bloodshot eyes only made her cry harder.

"There… Is… No… God."

Her body went limp after that and her eyes shut as she lost conscience. Ruby stayed there, kneeling and crying over her unconscious girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a long chapter.
> 
> The chant used is Agnus Dei, and for those of you that don't speak Latin, the lyrics are "Lamb of god that takes away worldly sins, have mercy on us, bring us peace."
> 
> Thank you for the supports, comments are welcome as long as they're civil. See you next time!


	8. Waiting for the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby is with Weiss, waiting for her to wake up.

It all felt like a dream to Ruby. A really, fucking bad dream. She wished nothing more than to wake up and take the nightmare away. She pinched herself really hard a few times and the spot on her thigh where she was pinching was bleeding, but she wouldn't wake up. It wasn't a dream. It was real, so fucking real, and all Ruby could do was cry and hope it will soon go away.

She was in the hospital room again, as she was every day since Weiss lost consciousness. She would be there, holding Weiss's limp and lifeless hand until it was time to go home for the night.  _I can't let her wake up alone. She doesn't even know where she is and with her last memory being the sight of her vomit after seeing something that scared her lifeless, she shouldn't wake by herself. Who knows what she'd do, maybe she would have a panic attack._

Christmas went by and Ruby didn't even care about it. Velvet and Yatsuhashi tried to get Ruby away at least for Christmas, but it didn't matter in the end as the only thing they achieved was more tears streaming from Ruby's cheeks.

Then Yang, her sister, came to the room. Ruby embraced her tightly and Yang returned the embrace even harder, as was typical of her. When Yang let go, she could see that the spot on her dress where Ruby pressed her head was soaking wet from the tears. She tried her best to comfort the crying girl, being her usual stoic self, but to no avail. Nothing mattered to Ruby if Weiss was still asleep. Yang tried to get her come home at least for the dinner, but Ruby was unmoving. She would not leave the hospital bed until Weiss awoke or it was absolutely necessary to go. If it would be allowed, she would even sleep there. In the end, Yang gave her a signed copy of one of her band's albums as a gift for Gia before she had to go, sadness in her eyes at her sister's agony and her own inability to help.

Ruby told Yang a few things about Gia in her time at the college, mostly that she was a huge fan of Yang's band and a very cool girl. Yang, always close with her fans, insisted on getting her a gift of some sort and this was it. Nothing too fancy, just an album with signatures of the whole band, but to a fan, that would mean a lot, especially coming from the band itself.

Then Blake came. She wasn't very talkative and the two girls never really talked before, but she was a very good friend of Weiss and she spent most of her time there looking at the screen that captured the sleeping girl's vital signs. She didn't try to get Ruby away from the hospital and Ruby was extremely thankful for that. She did find out that Blake got together with the guy that invited her to dinner the day the ballet class performed at the festival opening, though. Ruby managed a weak smile and a silent "Congratulations."

Gia was the next visitor. Probably for the first time since they knew each other, she wasn't smiling. She came in and hugged Ruby before even saying anything. Ruby's eyes never left the bed on which Weiss was lying while she was being hugged. Then Gia started talking about how she missed Ruby and the coffee breaks they used to take before the Christmas break and Ruby finally looked at her.

 _I'm sorry,_  she wanted to say.  _I'll make it up to you._  But nothing came out of her mouth. She knew she was neglecting everyone that cared about her, but she just couldn't help it. If Weiss wasn't well, she couldn't be happy. That fact was augmented by the fact nobody knew exactly what it was that made Weiss like that. The doctors said it could be a sort of PTSD trigger, but even they weren't really sure. Ruby was thinking about that as well.  _Her last words to me were 'There is no god.' She must have remembered something from the camp, something that was similar to another thing she saw there, on the mat._  She came to a conclusion that it had to be PTSD, though it felt really weird to say that.

 _Weiss is only eighteen. Someone that young shouldn't have endured the trauma that other PTSD sufferers have._ And she didn't tell the doctors what the reason behind her possible PTSD was. She didn't want them to know. She said that she didn't know the reason behind it and the doctors believed her.

Gia was very stubborn, staying with Ruby for the better part of an hour before giving up. Ruby gave her the CD Yang gave her earlier. Gia was ecstatic when she found out what it was. She hugged Ruby hard and gave her a kiss on the cheek, with the order that she was to give that same thanks to her sister. For the first time in about a week, Ruby managed a real smile and Gia looked happy that she managed to achieve at least that.

After Gia was gone, Ruby concentrated on Weiss again, holding her hand like she did the previous few days. The doctors kept her sedated, or so they told her. 'Out of fear something bigger might be happening with her on the inside,' they'd say when Ruby asked them why. She was not satisfied with the answer, but she knew they wouldn't tell her any more.

Then Ruby was surprised again at the sound of cautiously approaching footsteps. They stopped a few feet behind Ruby and she took her eyes off of Weiss for a moment to check who the mysterious visitor was.

"Before you say anything... I just want to say that I'm not stalking you," a slightly scared voice said.

"Becky? How did you..." Ruby didn't manage to finish.

"I wanted to wish you two a merry Christmas at your house, but your dad told me you're here."

"I'm really not in the mood now, Becky."

"I... Don't worry, Ruby, I will try not to make it awkward. But, I have to ask you something: does your father know about us?"

"Well, he knew we were dating, if that's what you're asking. He doesn't know exactly why we're not together anymore."

"So that explains his behaviour. He was nicer than I thought he'd be."

The two girls said nothing for a while and Ruby turned back to looking at Weiss.

"Hey, Ruby, I came here to tell you something."

"What is it, then? Spit it out," Ruby said impatiently.

"I came to terms with you. I had time to think and now that I saw the worry in your eyes, I just wanted to say I'm through. That I want nothing else than friendship from you. I may not like it too much, but Weiss is definitely the superior and your choice, which is what's important. You never looked at me the way you look at her."

Ruby looked at the floor and the pair was there in silence for another while.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now," Becky said. "Merry Christmas to both of you. I wish she wakes up soon." She then turned around and started walking towards the door. Ruby stood up from her chair.

"Becky, wait."

The older girl stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around to face Ruby, who got closer and closer before embracing the blue-eyed girl. Startled, Becky only returned the embrace after a few seconds, and even then with caution.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry," the grey-eyed girl said.

"Sorry for what?"

"For being a jerk. For not being a friend when you needed one." Becky smiled at those words, knowing from the sound of them that it was the truth.

Suddenly, Ruby heard a beep different from others. She released Becky and looked towards the bed to notice that Weiss's heart rate just went up a little. She got hopeful, ran to her bed and held her hand tighter, looking straight in her girlfriend's still closed eyes. Becky silently left the room, leaving the duo alone.

* * *

Weiss was sitting under a tree, hugged from behind by Ruby. It was night and the sky was clear and all the stars were visible. They were stargazing with intention of seeing shooting stars. It was cold, but being so close to each other Weiss could barely feel anything but her girlfriend's heat.

"Hey, I saw one!", Ruby exclaimed happily. Weiss quickly followed the finger that pointed at the sky, but she was too slow and the shooting star disappeared.

"I missed it," she said with a sad voice.

"Oh, come on, snowflake, don't be sad. Keep looking at the sky and you'll definitely see one," Ruby answered with a kiss on the nape of her neck.

"Did you make a wish?"

"Of course I did, snowflake."

Ruby wouldn't tell her what the wish was. And it was a good thing she didn't, as Weiss knew that telling the wish to someone is a sure way of it not getting fulfilled. She fixed her gaze at the sky again, pressing herself into Ruby's front while she rested her head on Weiss's shoulders.

Then Weiss saw a fiery line travelling from one end of the sky to the other and she made a wish.

_I wish to never be separated from Ruby._

Somehow the wish made her sad and she started gently sobbing. Ruby must have heard it as she tightened the embrace. Neither girl needed to say anything, yet they both knew what it was they meant to say. Weiss had never grown so close with someone this quickly before.

For a while, the two girls stared at the sky and no shooting star was seen. Weiss wanted to propose going home to sleep, but then she heard and felt Ruby cry in her shoulder.

"Wake up," she was saying through the tears. "Wake up, Weiss. Please."

Weiss was petrified.  _Why should I wake up when I'm already awake?_ But the crying didn't stop and the plea continued with the same desperation in Ruby's voice.

"Please, Weiss. Wake up, I need you to wake up."

Weiss looked back at the sky, wanting to forget her girlfriend's sobbing. She wanted her to be happy, not sad. Why was she sad? Weren't they sitting under a tree, looking at the sky?

Then she realized what was happening. And just as if it was all planned, right in that moment another shooting star appeared, this time shorter than before, but still long enough for Weiss to make another wish.

_I wish to wake up._

She kept repeating that wish in her mind for the longest time while Ruby still used her mantra as if it was a sacred order and finally the dream went up in smoke.

* * *

Ruby couldn't believe her eyes.  _Is this really happening or are my eyes deceiving me? Have I finally lost my mind?_

The heart rate and blood pressure kept rising to normal levels, that was an undeniable fact. She also saw Weiss move her eyelids slowly, as if fighting to open them. Ruby held her hand tighter and the tears stopped flowing. She also stopped repeating the mantra. The only thing she was doing, the only thing that mattered at that point was that Weiss was obviously trying to wake up.

Ruby knelt by the bed, watching her girlfriend with hopeful eyes. Finally, her eyes fluttered open.  _It is happening! She's awake!_

Ruby tried her best not to squeal or scream or scare Weiss in any way, fretting she might lose consciousness again. It was probably one of the hardest tests she imposed on herself, ever. She struggled to keep still as Weiss's sleepy eyes scanned the room. Then she felt a squeeze in her hand and she had to hold back a gasp. Weiss slowly turned her head around and finally met Ruby's bloodshot eyes.

"R-Ruby," Weiss croaked. Ruby let go of her hand, got closer and caressed her hair while pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"Shh. Don't strain yourself. I'll get you some water."

Ruby grabbed a cup on Weiss's bedside cabinet and ran out to get some fresh water. She came back not a minute later, picked up a straw that was conveniently placed on the cabinet and put the straw in the cup. She held it close to Weiss and put the straw in her mouth. Weiss sucked on the straw, emptying it quickly. After the cup was empty, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you want some more?"

Weiss just nodded, still too weak to talk. Ruby ran out of the room again and returned just as quickly, repeating the process from before. Weiss only drank half the cup, though, before clumsily pushing it away. Ruby gently put it on the cabinet and fixed her gaze on her girlfriend's eyes.

Weiss spoke, but her voice sounded unbelievably tired and hoarse, very unlike her normal voice.  _Well, she was unconscious for a week_ , Ruby reminded herself.

"Th-Thank you, Ruby."

"Don't talk much, Weiss. I don't want you to get exhausted again."

"Wh-What happened?"

Ruby started tearing up again. "Well, you were fighting this girl from the other college. And suddenly, you just fell down and puked and I… I ran to you and then you fainted."

Weiss held out her hand and Ruby took it, planting a gentle kiss on the back of it.

"How… Long?"

"How long were you out?" Weiss nodded. "About a week. Yesterday was Christmas."

A tear slid down Weiss's cheek. "S-Sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, why are you apologizing, Weiss? We'll get more Christmases that we will spend together. And in a way, we did spend this one together, too," Ruby said in a low voice. Then she saw Weiss looking at her questionably.

"I… I spent most of the week here, hoping you'd wake up. I even skipped our Christmas dinner and only got some leftovers when I got home."

"Ruby… Why?" There was a tone of accusation in her voice, which made Ruby's tears start flowing again.

"I-I didn't want y-you to w-wake up al-alone. I-I didn't know h-how you'd r-react. You w-were so scared w-when you…"

It was too much for Ruby. She put her head on Weiss's sheet-covered abdomen and started crying uncontrollably.

* * *

Weiss put a hand on her crying girlfriend's hair. She made small movements up and down the hair, caressing her. She didn't know what else to do.

_I obviously can't tell her what happened. Not yet. Not until she asks me._

The crying seemed to slow down ever so slightly. After a pretty long while, it finally stopped and Ruby lifted her head to reveal a tear-soaked bed sheet. The dark-haired girl then brought her head close to Weiss and gave her a kiss, their first in a week. Weiss wanted it to last a long time, but she was weak and had to push Ruby away to get a chance to breathe.

"Ruby… Go to family. Please."

"I can't leave you alone here, Weiss!"

"You must. Please. I won't go anywhere for a while. And I'm… Sooo tired."

She set her head to one side, closing her eyes again. She just had to go to sleep again, she couldn't even look. She felt Ruby lean in over her ear.

"I'll be back tomorrow. I love you."

Then Weiss felt Ruby's lips on her cheek and they were there for a pretty long time. After Ruby broke the kiss, she whispered goodbye and Weiss heard footsteps going away from her, then a door opened, a couple more steps, the door closed and then Weiss went back into dreamland, imagining Ruby and herself flying high up in the sky, above everyone that tried to discriminate against them.

* * *

Ruby was as happy as she ever was, but at the same time, she felt guilt.  _Finally she woke up. That still doesn't change the fact that I neglected everybody else that matters to me._

She was walking the streets of her hometown, clad with snow and a lot of it at that. The only place people could walk was in the middle of the pavement where there was a thin strip of what used to be snow, but was now melting at a slow rate, becoming the annoying slosh Ruby hated with fiery passion. Since the town was far from small, the path was crowded and it was hard to walk without bumping into anyone or stumbling over something you couldn't even see.

All the things she had to be careful about made her unable to check out the store windows, not like she wanted to buy anything. Still, it would have made her feel better if she could simply occupy her mind with something that wasn't just walking upright.

After struggling a while, she finally got to a barely populated part of town, from where it was just a short walk to her home. Truth be told, she should be happy she's going home. Uncle Qrow, her favourite family member that wasn't her father Taiyang or Yang, came over to hang out with them. He was the uncle that would show both girls a lot of fun stuff to do and he felt awesome when he was able to enthuse Ruby or Yang into a hobby of his. Qrow Branwen was truly the man of a hundred thousand hobbies. Or it could just be that he dropped one and then found another, Ruby couldn't really say.

But really, she felt empty. Less empty now that Weiss had woken up, but still, she felt that Weiss should be there too.

Slowly but surely she finally got to the house she called home. It was nothing special or out of the ordinary, a two-story building that was just large enough for the sisters and their father. When Qrow was there, the house started feeling small, what with Qrow being hyperactive even in his late forties.

"I'm home!", she shouted after shutting the door behind her. Not even a second later, her sister was holding her in a bear hug.

"Wh… Yang! You'll choke me!"

The tall blonde let go. "Sorry, sis. You know I can't help it!"

"I know, I know. Are uncle and dad home?"

Yang nodded and practically pulled Ruby towards the common room where two men looked like they were playing some kind of a board game. When Yang stomped into the room, they both immediately lifted their gaze.

"Hey, Ruby! You're early today. Is something wrong?"

Her father seemed concerned.  _Damn it, I was really neglecting my family this past week._

"No, dad, nothing's wrong," she said happily while giving him a hug. "In fact, something really good happened!"

Her father gave her a look. "Oh? Did she wake up?"

Ruby just nodded. "Great," her father said in reply to the nod.

"She also pretty much made me come home. I told her I spent most of my time holding her hand and she wasn't all too happy about it. I mean, she was happy I cared for her, but not happy that I wasn't at home at least for Christmas. And I know I should be, but I was just so scared for her and…"

She started rambling and Qrow got in the middle of things. "We get it, Ruby, and we aren't judging you. You did what you felt was right. While we can't hide it stung that you didn't want to spend Christmas with us, we understand you care a whole lot about this girl. In fact, you sort of remind me of your dad."

Ruby was saddened at uncle's words. But something he said made her perk up. "What do you mean, I remind you of my dad? How?"

Qrow's face turned pale. Taiyang intervened before too much was said. "Ruby, let's just leave it at the fact that I was left alone by someone I loved twice. I'm not very proud of some stuff I've done while I was alone, or rather, before the two of you could know what I was doing. I'll tell you more about it when you're not this upset, I promise."

Ruby nodded and gave another hug to her father. "I'm sorry, dad, I wasn't thinking much."

"Rubes, I understand."

The remainder of the afternoon was spent talking and mostly laughing at Qrow's or Yang's jokes. When the evening came, Qrow showed the girls his new hobby, pictures of cats on the Internet. Ruby and Yang only shook their heads in disbelief. A man of usually incredibly interesting hobbies finding something this useless and call it a hobby?

* * *

Weiss was awake, watching the plain and boring white ceiling of her hospital room.  _It's so boring here at night. I can't watch TV, not that there was anything good on, but anything would be better than looking at the ceiling, I'm too tired to walk, not that I would be allowed to now, I can't snuggle into Ruby since she's not here… I can't do anything._

She was brought out of her thoughts by a buzzing sound on her bedside table. She extended her hand towards it and grabbed hold of her phone.

_You have 1 new message._

Weiss checked the time.  _22.30. Who would be sending me a message so late at night?_

She could let it wait until tomorrow morning, but something made her check it. She realized it was from her sister, Winter, the only member of her family that still offered her some support or at least looked like she did. She quickly opened the message to read it.

_We were told you've woken up. We're coming to see you tomorrow._

That wasn't exactly what Weiss was hoping for. She knew Ruby didn't tell the staff she awoke. She then realized that there might have been a nurse visiting her while she was sleeping again and saw her increased heart rate.  _I'm not ready to deal with them yet. On the other hand, they_ knew _I was out and they never bothered to check on me before I awoke?_

At that point, Weiss's emotions turned from frustration to anger. Then she remembered there is no way she would know if they visited her while she was out cold, though something told her Ruby would tell if something like that happened, she was there all the time.

Weiss was left with only one option, and that was to take a few deep breaths and try to fall asleep again soon. She closed her eyes and started counting sheep, something she didn't want anyone to know she was still doing, not even Ruby. She got to three hundred before the sleep overtook her.

* * *

Ruby woke up and looked at her phone. She saw she was already a little late for hospital visiting hours. She jumped from the bed and ran to get dressed and cleaned before going to the hospital.

When she got to the kitchen, she noticed Yang sitting there, doing nothing. Her usually bright brown eyes looked very sad. Ruby couldn't dismiss that look. She got to her sister and hugged her, receiving a hug back.

When the two sisters parted, Ruby knew she needed to ask something.

"Yang, what is wrong?"

"Rubes, I know what uncle and dad were talking about yesterday when they said you remind them of dad."

"What do you mean?"

"You were five. I was seven. I didn't really understand what was going on, but when your mother died… Dad was devastated. I noticed he stopped eating for a while. From time to time when he thought nobody was listening, he was crying in his workroom."

Ruby knew why Yang was telling her this. "Yang, this isn't like that. Weiss will be all right, she'll be released in a few days, just in time for college."

"I know it won't be like that. But look at you, turning into such a wreck because she was unconscious for a week." Ruby wanted to say something, but Yang continued. "Imagine how you'd be if she wasn't going to wake up. If a simple loss of conscience threw you off like this… I don't want to imagine what could be. I don't want you to end up like dad has. Look at him, it's been thirteen years and he's still not only single, but not even trying to find someone. The two of us and uncle are all he has left. If he loses either of the three of us, he'll be done for."

Ruby finally got the chance to speak. "He has Weiss too. He has four people."

"How do you know that?"

Ruby realized she never told her family about Weiss and her problems with the family. She told them they were together, but not that her parents were homophobes.  _Well, no turning back now, I guess._

"I care about Weiss so much because… I'm the only thing she has."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that," Ruby talked with a sad voice, "her parents don't exactly approve of her sexuality, to put it mildly."

"How mildly are we putting it?" Yang wasn't going to let it slip like that, Ruby knew. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"When they found out she was a lesbian, they got super mad and sent her to one of those church camps." Yang gasped, but Ruby didn't stop. "She has seen some serious shit there, Yang. I think one of the things she saw there made her freak out during the fight."

"You're saying…"

"I'm saying that when her parents find out that she's dating a girl again, they'll either send her to another camp or completely throw her out of the family. If the latter happens, she'll have nowhere to go but here. If it's the former, well… It might be even worse for her."

Ruby looked at the floor with the last sentence. Suddenly she felt Yang rise up and get dressed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a lift to the hospital. Your girlfriend needs you, and she needs you now. Come."

* * *

Weiss woke up and after checking the time, she found out that visiting hours have already started. She looked around her room and noticed that neither Ruby nor her family were there. She started fidgeting with her fingers and just wanted to rise up to get a cup of water or anything to drink, she heard the door to her room open and in walked Ruby, quietly. When the girl noticed Weiss was already awake, she got the courage and got to her bed quickly and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Hey, snowflake. Sorry I'm late today."

Weiss felt much stronger than the day before and she found out she was speaking much easier, too.

"You're not late. In fact, I've only just woken. Oh, that reminds me. Would you be so nice and get me some water?"

Ruby nodded, quickly grabbed the cup on the cabinet and ran out, soon returning with a full cup. She wanted to put the straw in, but Weiss stopped her.

"No, I can drink normally today. Thanks a lot, Ruby."

"Anything for you."

As Weiss drank the water, she noticed Ruby was uneasy about something. When the cup was empty, she asked.

"Ruby, is something wrong?"

"Umm… Well… Not wrong, per se."

"Talk to me."

"I… I might have told my sister something about your family problems. Please don't freak out."

Weiss sighed. "Well, sooner or later she'd have to find out."

"I didn't really want to do it, believe me. But she told me about how my dad was when my mom died and that she was afraid and then I told her why I was so afraid about you and…"

Weiss learned a thing about Ruby: when she started rambling, she'd have to stop it herself, otherwise the girl would simply not stop talking.

"Ruby, it's okay, I'm not mad at you."

"I… I love you, Weiss."

"I love you too, rosebud."

For a while, the two girls just sat there in silence, holding their hands and looking at each other.

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby then said, "I understand if you don't want to tell me yet, but what happened during the fight?"

Weiss sighed and closed her eyes.  _Well, I can't keep running away from it._  She then started the story and while telling it, she could see the disgust on Ruby's face. When she was done, Ruby was on the verge of tears. She pulled into an embrace, holding the semi-upright girl close to her.

"That's horrible. Those people are animals."

Weiss started caressing Ruby's back. Not too long after that, Ruby pulled away just a bit so the two girls could see eye to eye. Weiss noticed that solemn look in Ruby's eyes and she knew that she was determined, now more than ever, to protect her from harm.

"I will not let anyone do something like that to you again, Weiss. Let them try and watch them get destroyed."

With that, she pressed her incredibly soft lips on Weiss's slightly dry ones and Weiss opened her mouth as if ordered, giving Ruby's tongue free path inside. Weiss felt like she was in heaven.

"What the  _hell_  do you think you're doing?", came a voice from the door and Weiss's heart sank.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit lighter chapter to offset the previous action-packed one. However, you know I had to end on a cliffhanger. After all, next chapter is the finale! Thank you to everyone that made it this far and hopefully you'll stay around for the finale as well, which is coming this Valentine's day!
> 
> Comments are welcome, so don't be shy.


	9. Thus Ends...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The unexpected visitors and Ruby have a word with each other.

Ruby jumped at the angry voice coming from the door. She turned around, glaring daggers. What she saw was a group of three people, which she judged to be father, mother and daughter, based on their looks.

All three of them had white hair, though the "mother" had clearly dyed hers that way, as her eyebrows were strawberry blonde. The "father" was a tall, stocky man with an angry look on his face. He narrowed his eyes to a degree Ruby couldn't see the colour of his eyes. Somehow she imagined them to be sky blue. His hair was very short, from the looks of it trimmed that morning and he also sported a moustache that rivalled World War I Austro-Hungarian soldiers. He was wearing an elaborate white and blue pinstriped suit, complete with snow white dress shirt and a light blue bowtie. He actually looked pretty elegant, Ruby noticed.

The mother was a much smaller woman, barely taller than Ruby. She had a similar look in her eyes as her presumed husband. The eyes were dark brown, almost black. Her hair was braided, but to the left side of her head and over her shoulders, falling down to her waist. She was wearing a light blue ballerina length dress with orange accents and ornaments. The fabric looked almost like silk.

But when Ruby looked at the "daughter" of the trio, she mentally jumped. The girl looked just like a carbon copy of Weiss, just a little older. The same eyes, the same long white hair, falling freely down her back. The only difference between the two girls was their size, Weiss being a few inches shorter. She couldn't have looked more different than her parents, though, wearing simple blue jeans and an ivory white cashmere sweater. She was also the only one of the trio that didn't look at Ruby and Weiss with hatred, but instead with something that seemed like understanding, perhaps even compassion, to Ruby. This struck her as odd. Before anyone could say another word, though, the daughter jumped to Weiss's bed and hugged her. Ruby heard her whisper something, but she couldn't hear what it was. She decided it wasn't her business anyway, and fixed her gaze on the angry duo that was still standing by the door, glaring at the scene.

"What did it look like we were doing?"

"You insolent little peasant," the man said in a low voice. "After all we've been through, trying to save our precious little girl, you go and render all our work void." The man sounded very angry and his wife was looking even more livid, but she kept her mouth shut.

"The only thing you did was make her miserable. Miserable and borderline self-loathing." Ruby didn't even try to sound neutral, she immediately went into a full-on attack.

"She is sick! We tried to heal her!"

"She most certainly  _isn't_  sick. She's the healthiest she's been since stepping her foot on the college campus."

"She's lying in a hospital bed and you have the nerve to say to me, her  _father_ , that she's healthy?"

"Do you have  _the slightest_  idea why she's lying in a hospital bed in the first place?" Ruby raised her voice, losing patience.

"Undoubtedly from some illness she got from a slut like you!"

"Father, stop it. Ruby's not a slut." Weiss spoke for the first time since the intrusion.

"Weiss, you don't know what you're talking about. This  _slut_  here infected your brain. And you were doing so well. I know it's not your fault. Your mother and I will take good care of you."

"Like hell you will!" At this point, Ruby was livid, anyone could see the fire in her eyes. "She isn't going anywhere! The reason she's here has much less to do with me than it has to do with the two  _monsters_  currently standing in front of me, accusing  _me_  of being a slut. More specifically, it has to do with an activity she had to endure this summer. Rings a bell?"

"You dare insinuate…"

"I'm not insinuating  _anything_!" Ruby was full-on yelling at this point. "She told me! She told me what you monsters made her do! She told me what you did to her! She told me what the nuns did to her!"

"The servants of God make no mistake," the man retorted calmly.

"What kind of god allows his servants to whip a fourteen-year-old boy until he passes out with a bleeding back?"

"The kind of God that knows what is right for the boy in question."

Ruby stopped yelling at this point, shaking her head in disbelief. "How can you be so dense?", she added with a puzzled voice. She really couldn't understand how anyone could be like that.

"Don't you dare insult my intelligence, slut!"

"Stop calling me a slut and I may, you incompetent fool."

"Why should I not call things by their name? A car is a car, a bed is a bed, and a slut is a slut."

Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. She never felt as sorry for anyone as she did for Weiss in that moment. She was just looking at the married couple in disbelief before letting out a long breath.  _Calm down. You can't reason with these people._

"At a loss for words? Truth hurts, doesn't it?"

 _I got you now, asshole._  "I guess I am a slut, then."

"Ruby!", Weiss exclaimed with pain in her voice.

"No, Weiss," Ruby said to Weiss while turning around to face her, "your parents may be right. However," she turned around again, facing the white-haired duo again, "what does that make your daughter, then?"

"Whatever do you mean?" The man looked at her and widened his eyes enough to reveal to Ruby that his eyes were, in fact, sky blue.

"I mean that  _I_ , as a slut, was  _seduced_  by your daughter," Ruby said calmly while getting closer to them, "and  _not_  the other way around. Doesn't that make her even more of a slut than me?"

The married couple widened their eyes in horror at the words, barely comprehending how someone as low-class as Ruby could even dare to insult them in such a way. Ruby noticed it too late and couldn't stop what happened next. She heard a loud smack on the right side of her face before she felt her head spinning and falling down to the floor. All she felt afterwards was blinding pain in her cheek.

* * *

Weiss was watching the whole ordeal, thoroughly shocked. She knew something bad was about to happen the moment her parents entered the room. She knew something was up when Ruby admitted to being a slut. But what transpired right at that moment was simply too much for her.

"You repugnant, disrespectful," every word grew louder and louder, "intolerant, stupid," the words grew even louder, starting from a whisper and developing into a loud speech, growing even louder with every word, "inhibited, dense, idiotic  _asshole_!" She finally finished her insult. Her sister was looking at her with concerned eyes.

"How dare you speak to your father like that?", he replied angrily.

"You hit my girlfriend! You hit the person that was by my side the whole week while I was lying here unconscious! You hit the person that helped me get back on my feet, the person that taught me to embrace what I am instead of hating it! You hit my best friend, my girlfriend, my soulmate!"

Her father continued in the stoic manner, firmly convicted of his own right. "I hadn't realized that she already had so much influence over you, Weiss. I'm glad I could come to rescue you from her grip before it got too late."

"I'm not going anywhere, you idiot!"

"Yes, you are, young lady, and you're going to apologise for those insolent words or regret them."

"I will never apologise for telling you what you really are to your face."

"You know what, Weiss? I can stand being insulted by this peasant," he said, pointing at the crying Ruby, lying on the floor, clutching her cheek. "I can easily dispose of her." He stepped a few steps towards Weiss's bed, almost kicking Ruby in the face while stepping over her, undoubtedly on purpose. "But I will  _not_  tolerate my own daughter saying that kind of words to me." Saying that, he raised a hand, prepared to strike.

"Oh, you're going to hit me? Are you sure, father? Are you sure you can hurt me after what you've already done to me?"

His hand came down and smacked Weiss hard. "You will apologise or else." He lifted his hand again, but something pushed him away.

"Father, stop it! She's your daughter, for crying out loud!" The sister, silent up to now, pushed her father away from Weiss's bed with a strength that clearly wasn't expected of her. Her father looked puzzled at the happenings.

"Winter, stay out of this."

"I most certainly will not. She's my sister."

"And I'm your father!"

"And just what will you achieve by hitting her? Give her another scar? Deform her further?" Winter could barely hold back her tears.

"The scar was not intentional."

"And that somehow makes it better? Look at your daughter,  _look_  at her." Winter made him look at Weiss, made him see his silently crying daughter, the scar marring her face, the red cheek where his hand struck, getting even redder by the moment. "Look at the scar you gave her in a fit of fury. Look at all the sadness you've made her feel because you let your temper get the best of you. Abuse won't help you, father."

Somehow, Winter calmed her father down, even made him look guilty somehow.

"I just want Weiss to understand that she can be cured and that I want nothing more than that."

"I know, father. I know you only want the best for Weiss. But hitting her won't help."

Weiss stopped crying at that point, as did Ruby, who slowly rose up to sit on a chair, still holding her cheek. Weiss noticed a large red stain on Ruby's otherwise pretty pale skin.

For the longest time, nobody said anything. Everyone exchanged a lot of looks, Winter sending a comforting one to Weiss, Weiss sending an apologetic look to Ruby, Ruby glaring daggers at Mr Schnee who was busy returning the glare, Winter sending Ruby a hopeful look, to which Weiss responded with a questioning look in her father's direction, and so forth.

"Well. I guess it's time to go, Weiss. We'll pack your bags and take you back home. Where we can help you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Weiss responded with an adamant voice.

"Weiss, let's not start this again, please," her father said.  _Wait, he's actually saying "please"? I never thought he was capable of it._

"I'm not starting anything. I'm not going anywhere. I love the college and I love the teachers, but most of all, I love Ruby."

"Fine," her father said.  _Wait, what?_

"S-Sorry?"

"I said fine."

 _There must be a trap in here somewhere._  "Wait, you're actually letting me stay here?"

"Yes, I am. Even more, just answer this question: Do you really mean what you're saying? Are you really in love with this girl? Do you really want to stay with her?"

_Okay, I'm scared now. But I can't leave Ruby behind._

"Yes, I am sure," Weiss said, trying to sound as unyielding as possible.  _What is he up to?_

"Well, that settles it. If you really don't want to get better, stay. But don't ever bother coming back to our house. I'll send you three suitcases of clothes and then disown you. And if I ever see you near our house, I'll have you detained and tried for trespassing."

Weiss looked at her father in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"As serious as I can be. This is the last time I want to see you. That's the price for not wanting to be a fully functional part of society."

Weiss looked at her father, processing what he just said. "Father…"

"You're no daughter of mine."

That angered Weiss. "So that's it? Rather than accepting the fact I don't like men, you're just taking me out of the family?"

"It's a disease and you don't want to cure it, so yes, I'm disowning you because you want to be ill." He turned around, wanting to leave.

"And you'd do the same if me and Winter were both lesbians?"

Mr Schnee looked back. "Don't you dare even insinuate my only daughter is anything like you," he said, hate in his voice obvious.

Weiss looked at Winter, who seemed nervous all of a sudden. She then looked at Weiss and met her warm and encouraging gaze. She then took a deep breath.

"Father," she breathed.

"Yes, my dear daughter?"

"If disowning homosexuals is your standpoint, then I'm not your daughter either."

"What are you saying?" Mr Schnee obviously didn't want to understand what his daughter was trying to say.

"I'm saying I'm homosexual too. I've known for a while now, but never found the courage to tell you. And after seeing what you've done to Weiss when you caught her… I realized it might be better not to. But today I've seen how despicable you truly are. So I have this to say to you: if you don't want to even try to understand that homosexuality is not a disease, then I'm not your daughter."

* * *

Ruby had a lot of troubles not lashing out at the bigot that disowned Weiss rather than accept her like she was. But the look of anger was replaced by a look of incredulity and a hint of malicious happiness at Winter's words. Mr Schnee's face was priceless when Winter confessed and Ruby couldn't hold back a laugh anymore. She started laughing uncontrollably, ignoring the glare of the elder Schnees. Mr Schnee looked in her direction, livid with anger and defeat.

"You… Fiend!"

Wrath blinded the man who went to hurt Ruby or even kill her. Luckily for Ruby, this time she was expecting it and easily dodged the attack, tripping him in the process. He fell face first on the floor, or would if he hadn't caught himself with his hands. He rose up immediately, his head bowed in defeat.

"I have no children." He said nothing else, just grabbed his wife by the arm and practically pulled her out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. That left Weiss, Ruby and Winter alone in the hospital room. The first thing Ruby did was kiss Weiss. She made it quick, though, as she didn't want to make it awkward for Winter. Weiss pulled Ruby closer to her while simultaneously urging Winter to come closer, which she warily did. The trio then shared a long hug.

Ruby then broke the silence.

"Winter, was it?"

The older Schnee daughter nodded. "Where will you go now?"

Winter looked at the floor. "I… A friend of mine said I can stay at his place."

"You know, I could ask my father to keep you. We're not very rich, but me and Weiss will spend most of our time on college grounds. And I know my father doesn't want to be alone all day, what with my sister always around with her band and all."

"Really, there's no need. I have a place to go. And I took quite some money with me this morning, expecting something like this. Which reminds me," she said, looking at Weiss, "I brought you some money too. I'm very sorry I couldn't stand by your side up to now, but I was scared." With those words, Winter took a pretty thick envelope from her designer bag and offered it to Weiss.

"That's… Very thoughtful of you, Winter. But I'm not sure I can accept it."

"I insist, Weiss. I have failed you as a sister on more than one occasion. This is the least I can do to try and make up to you. Also, it's your money. I emptied your trust fund because I knew they wouldn't let you take it after this."

Weiss reluctantly took the envelope and spared a smile to her sister. "Thank you."

Winter then made herself ready to walk out. "I guess this is it, Weiss. I'm going to live with my friend and you know it's a long journey, so I must be going."

Ruby then interfered. "You're not going anywhere."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You're not going anywhere today. I'll leave the two of you alone so you can catch up on everything and when visiting hours are over, I'll come back and take you to my place."

"Ruby, you really don't have to do this," Winter said with conviction, but Ruby answered with the same tone.

"I'm not sacrificing anything. You two are sisters. Bond a little, you haven't done that in a while. I'll let you go tomorrow. Speaking of bonding, I have some of my own to do. Enjoy your day together, sisters!"

Winter wanted to say something, but Weiss interrupted her. "She won't take no for an answer, Winter." This made Winter stop and say her own goodbye to Ruby.

As Ruby shut the door behind her, she almost ran home, hoping Yang would still be there. To her relief, she found her cooking lunch. She waited for her to stop fiddling with the wooden spoon and then tackled her in a bear hug from behind, startling the blonde.

"What the hell? Ruby?"

"I love you so much, Yang."

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

Ruby then told her sister everything that transpired earlier that day. By the end of the story, it was Yang who was clinging on her sister tightly, caressing her hair and trying not to cry.

* * *

Weiss looked to her left and there was Ruby, holding her hand as the duo stood in front of the college gates. Ruby gave her girlfriend a warm smile and Weiss gave Ruby a look of pure, unadulterated love. Then they shared a short kiss before stepping onto the college grounds for the first time since Christmas break. The lawn was covered with seven inches of snow, but luckily the path to the main building and the dorms was cleared. They walked down the path and met a lot of their friends. Most of them merely offered a little chit-chat to the two lovebirds, but a select few had more to say.

The duo saw Yatsuhashi in the distance, towering over everyone else. Next to him, a familiar slender figure walked, holding hands with him.

"Oh, they are so cute together!", Ruby couldn't hold back her excitement.

Weiss looked at the oncoming duo and couldn't help but agree with Ruby. Velvet was beaming with joy and so did Yatsu. They finally got close enough to talk, but they embraced before saying anything.

"Okay, guys, seriously. How? When?"  _Of course you'd want to ask that first, Ruby. You didn't even say hi,_  the white-haired girl rolled her eyes.

Velvet was all too happy to tell what happened, though. "He just kind of invited me to his place for New Year's and I thought it was going to be a party, but then it was just a dinner, just the two of us, and then we watched some movies. And then it just… Happened," she answered with pure joy, barely containing herself so she wouldn't bounce in place while talking.

"I'm so glad you found each other," Weiss said.

"And how did you two spend the New Year?", Yatsuhashi asked in his deep voice that wasn't often heard.

Weiss blushed and squeezed Ruby's hand tighter. "I thought we'd have a nice, calm evening together…", Weiss started.

"Oh?" Velvet looked concerned, but Ruby quickly but in.

"But then we went to see my sister's band perform in the city. I don't think they are exactly Weiss's style, but she seemed to enjoy it."

"Hey, their slow songs are good. I just don't like fast paced songs, is all. And they have a lot of fast songs."

"Doesn't help that White Rose, their slowest song, is written especially for us, does it?"

Weiss blushed harder. "I love that song."

Velvet couldn't contain herself anymore and started jumping in her spot from the happiness she felt at Ruby's words. "Oh my god, you got a song written especially for the two of you? That's  _so_ awesome!"

Ruby scratched the back of her head while sporting a shy smile, a pose that Weiss loved immensely. "Yeah, it kind of helps when you have a sister that's the main songwriter for the band."

After a little more banter and asking about Weiss's feelings about all that happened, which Weiss didn't look too comfortable sharing, but didn't resist either, the two pairs parted. Not making ten steps forward, Ruby and Weiss were stopped by Gia, who looked as happy as ever. She tackled Ruby into a tight hug that almost crushed her ribs from the look of it.

"Hey there, lovebirds! How's it hanging?"

"Gia, you'll break my ribs," Ruby breathed out, making her friend let go.

"Sorry, Ruby, I just missed you so much. Sorry, Weiss," she then turned towards the other girl and hugged her as well, though not nearly as powerfully as she did to Ruby.  _Thankfully._

"No bad blood between us, Gia," Weiss replied with no venom whatsoever.

"So, were you at the concert for the New Year's?", Ruby inquired and that's when the avalanche dropped.

"Oh, of course I was, it was so freaking awesome! Your sister is really the bomb! And that new song, White Rose? It's about the two of you, right? It's such an amazingly awesome song!"

Ruby and Gia were busy swooning over the perceived awesomeness of the concert, so they didn't notice Weiss looking dreamily at her girlfriend. She was taking in all her figure, her imperfections that somehow made her even more perfect, her enthusiasm for everything, her adorable smile, her slender arms, the warm hand that still held Weiss's, and so much more things she loved about her.

A song came to her, out of the blue.  _Lovely, never ever change, keep that breathless charm, won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you and the way you look tonight..._

She couldn't help it as she let go of Ruby's hand and amorously hugged her from behind, planting a kiss on Ruby's nape, disregarding Gia, disregarding everybody in the world except Ruby.

"Weiss?"

"Sorry, Ruby. I just love you more than you'll ever know."

"Aww, isn't that just perfect?", Gia chimed in. "Well, I'll leave you two to it. See you in class, Ruby!"

Ruby waved her goodbye before turning around and looking Weiss in the eye. Neither of them said anything, they just instinctively leaned in for a passionate kiss that was only broken when Weiss had to breathe in some air. Then the duo stood there, hugging each other for a long while before Ruby spoke.

"So, snowflake," she asked with a happy voice, "Ready for some more college?"

Weiss looked her girlfriend lovingly in the eye. "As long as I am with you, rosebud, always."

Then they shared another kiss before intertwining their hands again, walking towards the dorms. Weiss looked at her smiling girlfriend again.  _Perhaps there is a god, after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's finished! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone that has someone next to them! For those that don't, Happy Singles Awareness Day (which is tomorrow)!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented, left kudos, bookmarked or simply just read the story. I hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it.


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